ICGC suicide saga: Associates of Kofi Papa wants to know why

Some close associates of the 53-year-old photographer and member of the International Central Gospel Church, (ICGC) Christ Temple Assembly who committed suicide on the churches premises are questioning why he chose to hang himself on the premises of the church.

Speaking to Joy News the associates most of whom worked closely with the man identified as Victor Acheampong popularly known as Kofi Papa in the traffic control department of the church said they were shocked by the news.

According to them the church must concern it self with establishing why the man decided to hang himself on the premises of the church.

They revealed that the deceased has for sometime now been complaining about the failure of the church to assist him settle some debts.

The associates claim he had not been himself for the whole of last week.

Kofi Papa, who has been with the church at its beginning years at the Baden Powel Memorial Hall, was a traffic controller and well-known photographer in the church.

They said the church must draw important lessons from the incident and put in place appropriate welfare mechanisms to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

“I think the church will draw a lesson from it and eventually the church in Ghana that is the Christian community have to draw a lesson from this. As much as we are expanding material wise, when you come here there is expansion and development going on, we have to also concentrate.

We have to go back to the basics, the early church, the Acts of the Apostles, the early church that kind of communion and fellowship is very important because it is you and I who make the church.

So it means we could have people like this who are dressed in their 2-3 pieces suits but they will be having real problems so I believe that in our own small communities we should start making enquiries. We need to get closer to each other and help each other,” one church member said.

This church member also said: “I didn't believe it. I feel that coming into the church to do this, he wanted to show the church that they have to come to the aid of people who are really in need.

I don't know how the pastors went about this case, but that's how I felt, he wanted the church to know that if something of this nature comes to them, they will have to handle it well so that members of the church will feel that they are part of a family.”

The associates described Kofi Papa as an affable individual filled with life, a person they least expected to commit a thing as suicide.

Meanwhile, the head of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Reverend J.O.Y Mantey says congregation members should be discerning enough not to be easily taken in by the prosperity gospel which has become so prevalent lately.

He said as Christians all over the world continue the Easter celebrations, a renowned religious leader, have cautioned followers of Christ to be wary of self-seeking Church leaders.