The Ghana Muslim Forum for Peace and Unity has rejected Rev. Isaac Owusu Bempah’s recent comments about the political future of former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, insisting that no pastor has the power to determine whether he becomes President of Ghana.
The Forum said Dr. Bawumia’s political destiny rests solely with God and cannot be altered through curses, threats or declarations by any individual.
Its position 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 permitted it and threatened to spiritually end his political career if his communicators continued responding to him.
The pastor also alleged that Dr. Bawumia and members of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Nasara Wing were planning to attack his church.
The remarks came weeks after Rev. Owusu Bempah reportedly declared on August 9 that anyone who voted for the NPP would be cursed and that Dr. Bawumia would not become president during his lifetime.
In a statement issued on Thursday, September 10, and signed by its Executive Secretary, Dr. Zakari Abdul Rahman, the Muslim Forum described the comments as an attempt to assume a power that belongs to God.
“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 group supported its position with references from both the Qur’an and the Bible, citing Qur’an 3:26 and Daniel 2:21 to argue that leadership and political authority ultimately rest with God.
It said that if God wills Dr. Bawumia to become president, no individual can prevent it, just as no human being can force an outcome that God has not ordained.
The Forum accused Rev. Owusu Bempah of displaying what it described as religious extremism and cautioned against attempts by religious leaders to influence political outcomes through threats and spiritual pronouncements.
“You are not God to decide who becomes President. Bawumia’s destiny is in the hands of God, not you,” it stressed.
The group further argued that Dr. Bawumia’s political journey demonstrates that his electoral fortunes cannot be attributed to the influence of a particular religious leader.
It noted that he won the NPP presidential primary with the support of delegates from different religious backgrounds and subsequently secured about 42% of the votes in the 2024 presidential election.
The Muslim Forum also rejected the suggestion that Rev. Owusu Bempah speaks for Ghanaian Christians, saying his alleged anti-Muslim posture towards Dr. Bawumia does not represent the views of the country’s respected Christian leaders.
The Forum urged Dr. Bawumia to remain focused and avoid engaging in what it described as unnecessary provocations.
It also appealed to Ghanaians to protect the country’s longstanding Christian-Muslim relations and resist statements capable of creating religious divisions.
