Three Indian Catholic priests based in Kpassa in the Nkwanta-North District of the Oti Region were brutally beaten by a mob at a fuel station in Nkwanta last Wednesday.
The priests, Father Robinson Melkis, Father Frank Henry Jacob, and Father Martin George, are members of the Capuchin Friars.
They have been engaged in missionary activities in the country since 2005.
The attack was so severe that Father Frank Henry Jacob lost hearing in one ear and has been referred to Yendi Hospital for further medical attention.
Parts of the attack were captured on video and have been widely circulated on social media.
Graphic.com reported that, two officials from the Nkwanta-South Municipal Assembly who were accompanying the priests were also assaulted.
They are the Municipal Engineer and the Municipal Town and Country Planning Officer, Samuel Worlanyo Asugbey.
According to Monsignor Joseph Kofi Nsiah, the Vicar-General of the Catholic Diocese of Jasikan, the priests had hired a bulldozer from the Nkwanta-South Municipal Assembly to work on a piece of land where they planned to construct a Formation House project for seminarians at Chaiso in the Nkwanta-South Municipality.
They paid GH¢9,700 for the equipment and were accompanied by the two officials to move it to the site.
Monsignor Nsiah explained that the group was at a filling station to refuel the equipment when the mob attacked, accusing them of attempting to steal the machinery. For 30 minutes, the mob mercilessly beat them until officers of the Ghana Immigration Service intervened.
The mob subsequently reported to the police, alleging that the priests were stealing the Assembly’s road equipment.
Following this report, the priests were remanded into police custody, and the equipment was impounded. However, through the intervention of Monsignor Nsiah, they have since been granted bail pending further investigation.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) branch in the Nkwanta-South Constituency has issued an unqualified apology to the three Indian Catholic priests and the Jasikan Diocese of the Catholic Church.
In a release issued at Nkwanta and signed by the NDC Constituency Secretary, Prince Succeed Fiagadzi, the party expressed deep regret and sadness over the attack, describing it as unacceptable. They apologized for the harm, trauma, and distress caused to the priests.
“Your selfless dedication to serving humanity and preaching the message of love and compassion deserves utmost respect and gratitude,” the statement added.