The Ghana Muslim Forum for Peace and Unity has responded to recent religious comments by Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah concerning the candidacy of former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
In a statement signed by the Forum’s Executive Secretary, Dr Zakari Abdul Rahman, the group said Dr Bawumia’s political destiny could not be determined by any individual.
“We wish to remind Rev. Owusu Bempah that Bawumia’s destiny lies in the hands of God, not you. You did not create him, you do not sustain him, and you cannot determine his future,” the Forum stated.
The response follows comments reportedly made by Rev. Owusu Bempah during a church service on Sunday, September 6, where he claimed that Dr Bawumia could not become President unless he allowed it and threatened to spiritually end the former Vice President’s political career if his communicators continued responding to him.
The group cited religious teachings from both Islam and Christianity to support its position that political power ultimately rests with God.
“If God wills that Dr. Bawumia becomes president of Ghana, no human being, no matter how loud or self-acclaimed, can stop it. And if it is not God’s will, no human effort can force it,” the statement said.
They further described Rev. Owusu Bempah’s comments about Dr Bawumia’s political prospects, as an attempt to own a power that belongs to God.
“You are not God to decide who becomes President. Bawumia’s destiny is in the hands of God, not you,” the group stressed.
According to them, Dr Bawumia’s political journey itself demonstrates that his prospects cannot be determined by any single religious leader noting that he was elected as the NPP’s presidential candidate by a predominantly Christian delegate base and subsequently secured 42% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election.
The group also rejected the suggestion that Rev. Owusu Bempah’s position represents the views of Christians in Ghana, saying his comments do not speak for Christianity.
The Muslim Forumurged Dr Bawumia to remain calm and ignore what it described as provocations while continuing to trust in God.