Open Letter to MP for Madina, Lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu: Consider Religious Neutrality, Our Gods Too Are Not Evil
Dear Lawyer Sosu,
Warm greetings and hope you will take a few minutes out of your busy schedules to read this letter.
I have sighted excerpts of your reaction to the statement issued by the Ghana Police Service cautioning church leaders to be circumspect in their December 31st Night Prophecies, one of which caught my attention and I have singled it out the way you did for the Police statement. And it reads
“Any attempt to regulate the form, nature, or communication of prophecies which is a spiritual act can amount to a fetter on and/or breach of right to freely practice one’s religion and to manifest same as guarantee by the 1992 Construction and this must not be allowed”
The Police statement specially mentioned death, harm prophecies, and statements that may cause public fear and panic which you are aware characterizes December 31st Nights.
First of all, Lawyer, if you want pastors to prophesy death and accidents of prominent people freely on national television, then champion the repeal of the Section 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (ACT 29) which criminalizes publication of fake news on which the Police based to remind the pastors.
Lawyer, but before you champion the repeal of that law which I will support so people affected by fake news publication rather take civil legal actions against the publishers in court, I know you are a proactive and not reactive Leader, so, I expected you to see the Police statement from that angle.
Hon., If you have forgotten, then a quick reminder. We’re all in this country 3years ago when Rev. Owusu Bempah in the name of 31st Night Prophecy said that Ghana’s National Chief Imam who was 99years at the time was going to die the following year and we all saw what followed. Thanks to a living national legend and national peace icon like Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu who the said statement affected directly stepping in to calm situations be calling on his followers to order to avert any further serious disturbance.
Hon. Sosu, how will you; your wife and children; family and friends; business partners and associates; members of your political party feel in the event that an African Spiritualist Leader on live national television make a categorical statement on night of December 31, 2021 that his Gods have revealed to him that you will die in 2022?
What do you think will be the psychological state of yourself and the people around you? How do you think your business and political prospects in 2022 be like?
Perhaps, you have not seen anything wrong with it because no one has made such a statement against you but it does not mean is not a real problem.
Lawyer Sosu, you are among two other Members of Parliament who on November 10, 2021 announced that you – trio have sponsored a private member’s bill in Parliament to prohibit and make it criminal by amending the Criminal and Other Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) the practice by any person as a witch doctor, or witchfinder.
The said Bill is “expected to also proscribe the declaration, accusation, naming or labeling of another person as a witch; to prohibit a person from employing or soliciting anyone to accuse, name, label, indicate, or declare another person as a witch and provide for related matters.”
Lawyer Sosu, is the practice of witch doctor or witchfinder also not a religious practice and “spiritual act” just like the Christian’s practice of prophecy?.
You are a Christian and a Pastor but you cannot for any situation be thinking and creating the erroneous impression that everything about African spiritual practice is evil and must be criminalized. You made public, your experience with the Trokosi system of our people and degraded us.
You said you are a “victim of voodoo practice” – why will you champion a law for diverse people from a biased angle like this? Who told you other people who still believe in those religious practices see it as evil as you see it?
What makes you think that you can tell other religions in Ghana how they should practice and yet you think the Police don’t have the right to do same?
I have no problem criminalizing or criticizing or reforming what we as a society have grown to accept that should no longer be accepted in our society but what we should not tolerate is when we hold superior some religious practices and demean others.
Lawyer Sosu, what do you think you and other Christian leaders’ reactions will be tomorrow if I become a President of Ghana and decide that my Gods at Nogokpo helped me to become a president so I want to build a National Shrine at the centre of Accra by demolition judge’s residence?
The same 1992 constitution you are referring to, equally informs us that Ghana is a secular state while stating that whiles enjoying our rights we must not violate others too.
You see, I admire you and your human rights activism and commend you for your efforts. I have resolved to start a law programme next year and also know the law not necessary to practice as a full-time lawyer but to be able to fight this kind of national discrimination against African religious practices too.
I have enough evidence to prove to you that just like your God, my Gods at Nogokpo are also not evil but is we, human beings that are evil and use whatever tool we have in our hands to commit evil against humanity because of our personal selfish interest. You cannot tell me that car is evil because people are killed in a car accident.
Happy New Year in Advance!
Your long-time friend,
Efo Korsi Senyo
Pan Africanist
Accra
December 30, 2021
