Click to read PART 2: The rise and fall of Rebellion in Winners Chapel International Accra-Ghana
Part 3
EXCLUSIVE:
By Daniel Breakforth
Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker. (2 Samuel 3:1)
While the case was going on, 2 facts were made clear. First of all, it was a case of Vision against Ambition with Vision overcoming. Recall that Adjeman had used the excuse that the WCI had been able to set up just 3 months after the takeover of the Church facility by WCG. Note that just as it had been in 1996, it was again money sent from the headquarters in Nigeria that was used to purchase the property at Dadedan Loop.
This growth showed over the 13 years between the rebellion and high court judgement and even thereafter. Initially after the rebellion, every member of WCI was perceived in Ghana as a criminal but over time, the perception changed. Men of God like Archbishop Dag Heward Mills coincidentally at the time intensified his message on loyalty. Many Pentecostal leaders like Mensah Otabil would have nothing to do with WCG and over time the ‘rebel’ Church lost steam, verve and vitality.
Interestingly, the Church names and logo remained almost the same, WCI was Living Faith Church Worldwide aka WCI Ghana while Adjeman’s group was Living Faith World Outreach Centre aka WCG.
The logos also remained the same except that the WCG had a flag of Ghana 🇬🇠imprinted on its logo.
The Kingdom Heritage Model School of WCI was taken over within the premises and renamed ‘Heritage Academy’. Also in September 2004, another body was registered by WCG to prepare for a possible eventuality in which her rebellion would fail.
Sadly, the 5000 capacity facility taken over by WCG which at a time held 3 booming services gradually reduced to one single service. Many chairs in the auditorium were packed to the side and few chairs spread out to cover space. Attendance on Sunday services reduced to about five hundred (500) signifying a 96.7% drop in Church attendance on Sunday’s and 30 people during midweek services, a 99.80% drop in attendance. On the day that CG visited in July 2022, the prayer leader was leading a prayer for Church growth and for multitudes.
AN APPEAL IS MADE
In continuation of the case, the WCI appealed. Subsequently, In November 2020, the Appeal Court in Ghana reversed the decisions of the High Court.
The summary of the judgment and the consequential reliefs granted by the Appeal Court were:
1. The judgment of the trial high court is reversed.
2. All properties acquired or funded by the Church a.k.a. Winners Chapel International (1st and 2nd Plaintiffs) are the Church’s bona fide properties.
3. The Church is entitled to recover its properties at East Legon, No. 16 Otublohum Road, Industrial Area, all places of worship and items of worship of the Church occupied by Adjeman and Winners Chapel Ghana.
4. The Registrar General is to delete the names of Adjeman and the Defendants from its records as directors and subscribers of Winners Chapel and restore the names of the Church and its directors and subscribers in their stead.
5. Adjeman is to render an account of his stewardship to the Church from 16/01/2004 to date and pay any moneys due the Church with interest at the prevailing commercial bank interest rate.
6. The Church is entitled to the exclusive use of the name “Winners’ Chapel and Adjeman and the other Defendants are injuncted in perpetuity from using the name.
The case was conducted by Thaddeus Sory and Pst Nii Amassah Kotey who unfortunately passed on to glory a few days before judgment was given. Thanks be to God for crowning their efforts with success.
As expected, Bishop Adjeman appealed the case to the Supreme Court of Ghana which is the highest judicial body in Ghana.
WCI and WCG.
The WCI started again in 2004 after the unfortunate split. It now has a network of over 250 churches in Ghana and is about getting its own university. However WCG led by Adjeman has plunged from 14,000 members as at the time of secession to about 500 members and in a Monday Prayer meeting attended by Church Gist in July 2022, Church Gist counted 33 in her weekly program and this included our representative from Nigeria and our Ghanaian rep.
REVISITING THE DAY OF REBELLION IN 2004
The day of secession as told by a Ghanaian Eye Witness in the Church Paul Agbai,
"A lot had been going on prior to the coup de tat that day, a Wednesday... In April 2004. Prior to that day, the Pastors from WCG had gone to Lagos for annual pastors retreat of which George Adjeman himself was supposed to go but he didn't and rather handpicked those pastors loyal to him to go. News had gone round before the arrival of the Pastors that those who went to Lagos were made to sign some undertaken against their will, but no one could ascertain this claim.
I came to church that night, driving towards the church, behind one Pastor Richard Appiah, who was next to Bishop Adjeman in seniority, himself just coming from the Lagos trip and was heading to Church that night.
Just by the gate of the Church, the head of Crowd Control Unit, (CCU), stopped him and said "Oga" has said that all the pastors who went to Lagos should not be allowed in. This Pastor Richard Appiah gave a note to the brother to go and give the Bishop that he, Richard, had come but Bishop Adjeman sent a message back that he should meet him in the house by 9pm. I was in my car, just behind Pastor Richard as all these unfolded, I was wondering and a bit confused because of all the preceding tension buildups. Well, Richard's wife got down from the car and trekked in to take her sit with the choir I was leading then. I reversed my car abit for Richard to pull back before I could enter the church in my car.
Towards the end of the service, Bishop Adjeman stood up with a script in his hand and started....."when a child in the womb delays in coming out, a surgical operation is needed, we are about doing a surgical operation."
Along the lines of the script, was this statement that shocked me to my bones and marrows till date. Bishop Adjeman said that "all the pastors that went to Lagos had been held and detained against their will and he doesn't know where they are and that the Church should rise up so that we pray for their release from those holding them in Nigeria.."
I stood up with others...but instead of praying..I was lost in wondering if this was a kind of home movie theatre or a church, I am in?.and congregation prayed like they were casting out demons in Africa...you know that scene....I was asking myself...is it not now that this man asked the pastors to meet him at a place for meeting at 9pm...but unsuspecting souls were led astray to make it look like it’s a fight between Ghana and Nigeria... 13 years down the line (2017) ...no sense of remorse... Not even after he later called Bishop Oyedepo that he wanted to come to see him for restitution and he was granted audience.
In that meeting captured on Video, he told Bishop Oyedepo that he was ready to let go and Bishop told him he should just drop the name that is creating confusion and go with the properties to start his own ‘Life Assembly Church’ he jettisoned. Bishop Adjeman said, he won't only drop name of Winners’ Chapel he is using but would drop all properties too..(...he returned to Ghana and changed his mind........
ADJEMAN GOES TO THE SUPREME COURT
The fact that the Appeal Court judgement was not pleasing to WCG meant only one thing. WCG had no choice but to appeal otherwise everything they stood for was null and void. Quietly they went to court in what was a big setback and struggle for survival. In all these Bishop Oyedepo avoided the matter only commenting during Shiloh 2020 that he heard a case had been won just a week before Shiloh. Due to the loss of members and the need to get revenue for her court case among others, WCG did what would be considered unthinkable in a normal Living Faith Church; they began to rent out the facility for events such as burials, weddings and all the likes at commercial rates. This was possibly one of the reasons why the Court insisted on payment of rent by WCG to WCI.
In 2023, judgement was eventually given. The Supreme Court of Ghana ordered that Bishop George Adjeman who was consecrated Bishop in November 1999 should vacate the premises of Winners Chapel used by him for the last 19 years after a long drawn court case. Interestingly, the Ghanaian press was uncharacteristically quiet about the judgement while some media elements tried to twist the story of the case which lasted almost 2 decades. It was a debilitating blow to Bishop Adjeman in his own country.
The Supreme Court also varied the decision that Bishop Adjeman render an account of his stewardship to WCI from 16/1/2004 to date and pay any monies due the Church with interest at the prevailing commercial bank interest rate by reducing the rate to be paid among other decisions.
However, it set aside an order by the Court of Appeal that restrained George Adjeman and others from using the name Winners Chapel for their breakaway group. This implies that the name WCG has come to stay.
The Supreme Court upheld the following orders as made by the Court of Appeal;
Firstly, the Living Faith World Outreach Centre recovers possession of all that piece and parcel of land situated at Winners Chapel No.16 Otublohum Road, Industrial, Area.
Secondly, the court upheld the grant of H/No. 5, situated at Arko Adjei Street adjacent to Miklin Hotel, East Legon, Accra to the plaintiffs.
Additionally, George Adjeman and the group were restrained from disturbing the Plaintiffs’ quiet enjoyment of their properties, places, and items of worship.
Finally, the order for the Registrar General to delete the names of all the defendants as directors and/or subscribers to the Regulations of 1 and 2 Plaintiffs.
On the other hand, the appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal was granted in part.
The court set aside, the order directed at the Registrar General’s Department to remove the name Winners Chapel from the Registrar of Companies.
Secondly, the order that Winners Chapel should not be used by George Adjeman and others because it belonged exclusively to the Living Faith World Outreach Centre was set aside. This implies that even though the name Winners Chapel Ghana can operate within Ghana, it will be almost impossible to operate with exactly same name in any country outside Ghana.
End of Part 3.
Read the final PART 4. The rise and fall of Rebellion in Winners Chapel International Accra-Ghana.
Report: Believers Channel
Credit: Church Seeker