Abesim murder: Anglican Church demands unqualified apology from Net 2 journalists over non-factual comments 

The Sunyani Diocese of the Anglican Church has demanded an unqualified apology from a Net 2 journalist, Kwaku Annan, for his recent comments against the church on the Abesim murder case.

The journalist is heard on a live TV broadcast video circulating on social media claiming that the Anglican church contributed to the recent murder and crime incidents in Sunyani and environs.

He blamed the incident on an abandoned bushy land belonging to the Church which has served as a hideout for criminals.

But a release jointly signed by Sunyani Diocesan and Synod Secretary, Venerable Martin A. Amankwah and the Dean of St Anselm Cathedral, Very Reverend Timothy Kankam Dwumfour, explained that the church “is unaware of any murders in and around any property it owns in Sunyani and surrounding communities over the years.

“The leadership of the Anglican Communion in Sunyani has picked up a sordid and unwarranted orogeny directed at the Anglican Church in Sunyani on social media in the last couple of days by a journalist going by the name Kwasi Annan”, the statement stated.

It further explained that “there is no Anglican church or building owned by the church in Abesim. The church headquarters – St Anselm’s Cathedral is situated in a well-developed environment with no deliberate uncultivated bushes around it”. The statement stressed that the damnable inaccuracies without any hint of evidence in the emotionally charged presentation on TV by the said journalist alone discredit his efforts.

“Therefore, the leadership of the church considers it the height of a wicked and irresponsible calumny for the said journalist to put forth such aggressive manner that the church has deliberately left the thick bush behind their temple, ostensibly to encourage crime to wit, ritual murder.

“There is no place in Sunyani called Apenkwaase where the Anglican Church has thick bushes close to its structure and the said intelligence alleged to have been gathered is, to say the least egregious,” it further pointed out.

The statement clarified that the Anglican Church in the Bono region and elsewhere welcomes any investigations by the police as suggested in the said video, saying the church was ready to cooperate in any investigation.

The church stated that it has been praying for the unravelling of the gruesome murder of the three young persons at Abesim and urged the public to ensure that contributions and comments on the recent Abesim murder case remain factual and based on evidence.

“Failing this honest intention may lead to untrue and counter-productive consequences that may unduly affect the very commendable efforts of the security agencies investigating the matter,” the Diocese added.

Tragedy hit the farming community of Abesim in the early hours of Saturday, August 21, 2021, when Richard Appiah, a popular footballer, allegedly murdered his 12-year-old relative, two others and kept the dismembered body in a fridge in his room.

Nana Ama Asiedu, Bono Region