BY Grace Zigah
Former Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has formally petitioned the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice to intervene in the criminal proceedings arising from the alleged shooting incident involving her and her younger brother, Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena, arguing that the case is being prosecuted before the wrong court.
The petition, dated June 25, 2026, seeks a review of the ongoing proceedings at the Adenta Circuit Court and requests that the Attorney-General invoke his constitutional powers to transfer the matter to the High Court, which her lawyers insist is the only court with jurisdiction to hear the substantive criminal charges.
The latest legal development marks another twist in the family dispute that has engulfed the Kristo Asafo Mission and the Kwadwo Safo family since the death of the church’s founder, Apostle Emeritus Professor Ing. Kwadwo Safo, in September 2025.
The succession dispute has intensified over the past several months after disagreements emerged on who should succeed the late founder as leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission.
While Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena had previously been named as successor by his father in 2017, members of the family have maintained that the late Apostle revoked that decision in 2024 before appointing his daughter, Sarah Adwoa Safo, as Head of the Kwadwo Safo Family and establishing a new succession roadmap that excluded Akofena from assuming leadership of the church.
The disagreement reached a dramatic climax on June 21, 2026, when an alleged shooting incident occurred at the residence of Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena.
According to Adwoa Safo’s account, she had gone to the premises to serve court processes relating to legal action intended to restrain what she described as an unlawful installation ceremony aimed at declaring her younger brother as leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission.
The former legislator alleges that during the encounter, gunshots were fired at her and her vehicle, resulting in injuries to her face, jaw, ear and the back of her head. Her lawyers further claim that fragments of bullets remain lodged in her skull and that her Toyota Land Cruiser Prado also sustained damage during the incident.
Following investigations, police arrested Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena together with eight other suspects who were subsequently arraigned before the Adenta Circuit Court.
The accused persons are facing several charges, including the use of offensive weapons, unlawful possession of firearms and explosives, participation in vigilante activities, discharging firearms in a public place and causing unlawful damage. The court granted the accused persons bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 each with two sureties pending further proceedings.
However, lawyers for Adwoa Safo have now questioned the legality of the forum before which the case is being prosecuted.
In their petition to the Attorney-General, the legal team argues that one of the principal offences before the court—intentionally and unlawfully causing harm with the use of an offensive weapon—is classified under Ghanaian law as a first-degree felony.
According to the petition, such offences are triable only on indictment before the High Court and therefore fall outside the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court.
“Respectfully, the offence of intentionally and unlawfully causing harm with the use of an offensive weapon is a first-degree felony and is triable on indictment before the High Court, not the Circuit Court,” portions of the petition state.
The lawyers further contend that because the Circuit Court lacks jurisdiction over the substantive offence, it equally lacks the legal authority to entertain bail applications relating to the accused persons.
They argue that allowing proceedings to continue before a court without the requisite jurisdiction could undermine the administration of justice and potentially affect the validity of any subsequent proceedings.
The petition therefore urges the Attorney-General to call for the complete police docket, conduct a comprehensive legal review of the charges and exercise his prosecutorial authority by withdrawing the case from the Circuit Court and refiling it before the High Court.
According to the legal team, such a move would ensure that the matter is heard by the appropriate court with competent jurisdiction and facilitate what they describe as a full, fair and expeditious trial.
The Attorney-General is yet to publicly respond to the petition.
The application represents the latest chapter in what has become a highly publicised legal and family dispute involving the leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission, with parallel proceedings now unfolding before both the courts and law enforcement agencies as investigations into the alleged shooting continue.
