Lawyer Kwame Akuffo, who represents six of the late Apostle Emeritus Professor Ing. Kwadwo Safo’s children, has refuted assertions that reading the founder’s will automatically elevates Israel Nana Kwadwo Safo, also known as Akofena, to the position of mission head.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, the day after the late founder’s will was read, Mr. Akuffo insisted that there is no clause in the document designating, confirming, or anointing any person as the leader of the church.
He claims that there are legal and constitutional issues with the idea that the will determines the Kristo Asafo Mission’s succession.
He informed reporters that “The will does not establish the leadership of the church. Leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission is governed by the church’s constitution, not by the testamentary wishes of the deceased.”
Mr. Akuffo, who represents six of the late Apostle’s children, including former Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo, stated that his clients have given him the go-ahead to start legal action in order to get a final court interpretation of the church’s succession-related constitutional provisions.
He maintained that although the will controls how the late founder’s estate is distributed, it neither supersedes nor modifies the constitutional framework that governs the Kristo Asafo Mission’s leadership.
Mr. Akuffo further argued that although though his father had previously recognised Akofena as a possible heir, later events changed that assessment.
He stated that the late Apostle changed the church’s constitutional succession plans after relieving Akofena of several leadership duties inside the Kristo Asafo organization.
He believes that who is eligible to govern the church should be determined by those constitutional amendments rather than the terms of the will.
In light of the church’s constitution, he questioned the legality of claiming leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission based only on the will.
Additionally, Mr. Akuffo maintained that the church’s constitution is still the ultimate governing document on issues pertaining to church leadership and that the will’s failure to take into account later constitutional amendments does not render it invalid or supplant it.
He revealed that an interlocutory injunction has been filed against Akofena as part of the legal process until the court resolves the succession dispute.
Mr. Akuffo claims that the Kristo Asafo Mission does not now have a lawfully appointed leader and that any claim to the position should wait until the legal and constitutional procedures are completed.
Following the death of Apostle Emeritus Professor Ing. Kwadwo Safo, the succession controversy has received a lot of attention, with various interpretations of the legal implications of his will and the church’s constitution.
The six siblings’ lawsuit is anticipated to seek judicial clarification over whether the founder’s will or the church’s constitution governs the selection of the Kristo Asafo Mission’s next leader.
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Source: newsthemegh.com