Usher Steals Tithes�He�s On Trial

Stealing in God�s House is becoming rampant these days and the perpetrators are being exposed one after the other. Exactly a week when The Spectator reported about the stealing from an offertory by a church member at the Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church at Dansoman in Accra, another stealing case has been recorded at the Agape House New Testament Church at East Legon in Accra. An usher of the church is being tried by an Accra circuit court for allegedly stealing tithes and offertory moneys. Stephen Asamoah, the usher, pleaded guilty with explanation when he was arraigned before the court and was subsequently remanded in custody. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Charles Chester, told the court presided over by Miss Ellen Asamoah, that the complainant, Rev. James Ata Odoom, is a senior pastor at the Agape House New Testament Church, East Legon, Accra, while the accused, Stephen Asamoah Baah, is a pest controller and an usher in the church. He resides at Bawaleshie, East Legon in Accra. The prosecutor said, on December 22, last year, after the Sunday church service, after gathering all the T-shirts, that the church had offered for sale into a store room, where the offertory boxes are also kept, Stephen went back to the room and dipped his hand into the collection boxes and stole envelopes containing monies being the tithes and offertory collected and left for home. The next day, when the church administrators were recounting the offertory, they detected that a particular envelope which a member of the church personally handed over to Rev. James Atta Odoom, containing an unspecified amount of money was not in the offertory box. Chief Inspector Chester said, this alerted Rev. Odoom, who decided to play the Close Circuit Television Video (CCTV) and Stephen was clearly shown on the CCTV removing that particular envelope together with a cheque. The prosecutor said, Rev. Odoom, reported the incident to the police and Stephen was arrested. A search conducted in his room revealed tithe envelopes, cheques with total amount of GH�200 and GH�3,000 cash. The case has bee3n adjourned to February 10.