YOU MUST GO: Larteh Chief Orders Pastor Out Over “three-year” No Rain Prophecy

A pastor who allegedly declared that Larteh would experience no rainfall for three years, three months, three weeks and three days has been ordered to leave the town by the chief, Osabarima Enyinɛ Asiedu Okoo Ababio III.

The chief, who is also the Benkumhene of the Akuapim Traditional Area, said the pastor, identified as Mensah from Ashanti Bekwai had no right to use his religious beliefs to interfere with the traditional practices of Larteh.

According to Osabarima Ababio III, the man had lived in Larteh for about 13 years but had never formally introduced himself to the traditional authority.

The controversy, he said, erupted about three weeks before the interview when the pastor went to the town’s night market and allegedly announced that God had revealed to him that Larteh would suffer a prolonged drought.

“He said God had revealed to him that there would not be rainfall at Larteh for three years, three months, three weeks, three days,” the chief recounted.

The pastor reportedly went further to call for the burning of fetishes and shrines in Larteh.

That, the chief said, crossed the line.

Osabarima Ababio III said his elders summoned the pastor, who admitted making the pronouncement and apologized.

But the apology did not end the matter.

“I said, no, you must leave Larteh,” the chief said.

He explained that the pastor had been given 21 days to leave the town and return to his hometown, where he was expected to report the matter to his own chief.

“If the chief claps for him, then he should come back,” he said, stressing that the decision was not negotiable.

Until the 21-day period expires, the pastor has also been instructed not to open his church or preach publicly on the streets of Larteh.

For the Larteh chief, the issue is not Christianity itself.

He acknowledged that Christianity has had a long history in Larteh, dating back to 1853, and pointed to several prominent Christian leaders who hail from the town.

His concern, he said, is religious interference.

“If you’re Christian, do what Christians do. If you’re fetish, do what fetishes do. But don’t interfere with the way of a Christian. That is my law,” he said.

He extended the same principle to traditional religious practitioners.

“If you’re Christian, fine. If you are a fetish man, fine. Practice your fetishism, your Christian tenets, but don’t interfere. Let us stay as our parents did.”

The chief’s comments come against the backdrop of a broader debate over pastors, prophecies and the boundaries between religious preaching and traditional authority.

For Osabarima Ababio III, faith does not give anyone a licence to disregard the customs and authority of the community in which they live.