PROPHETESS THANE II vs. PROPHET GEORGE

In 1914, evangelist William Wady Harris from Liberia converted Grace Thane, a fetish priestess, who married him and was ordained a prophetess. After Harris's departure and death, Grace Thane founded the 'Wady Harris Twelve Apostles Church' in 1929. The appellant joined the church in 1930, was healed, ordained a prophet in 1934, and given consecrated articles as insignia. After Grace Thane's death in 1958, her granddaughter, the respondent, was installed as her spiritual successor, leading the mother church. The appellant rejected the respondent's leadership, ordained priests independently, and established a rival church named 'The Twelve Apostles Church of Ghana.' Both churches operated under similar names, leading to conflict and legal action by the respondent to restrain the appellant from using the name and to recover consecrated articles.

JUDGMENT OF APALOO J.A. Sometime in 1914, a man called William Wady Harris arrived in this country from the Republic of Liberia. He was an evangelist and propagated the faith to many inhabitants in the Western Region especially in the Nzima Traditional Area. His mission was successful and he won over to Christianity a lot of persons who had hitherto been unbelievers. One of such persons was a fetish priestess called Grace Thane. She was so thoroughly converted to the faith that she and the evangelist, Harris, united in marriage and one assumes both lived together in holy matrimony. Although Harris carried on a successful evangelising mission, he did not found a church. This was to be done after his departure by his wife. Harris left this country around 1915 and died some time after returning home to Liberia. But while Harris was here, he ordained Grace Thane, his wife, a prophetess. She carried on her husband’s work and in time, herself made many converts. In 1929, she fou.....