The Ghana Police have confirmed the arrest of a suspect in connection with an arson attack on the Grace Town Power Ministry Headquarters, popularly known as Alpha Hour, located within the Mile 7 District under the Tesano Division.

The police, in a formal statement signed by Ms Juliana Obeng, Superintendent of Police and Head of Public Affairs, Accra Region, revealed that the suspect, a woman identified as Kesse Okyerewaa Koranteng, “unlawfully entered the church premises, sprinkled petrol in the auditorium, and set the place on fire.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect entered the church auditorium with a liquid substance contained in rubber containers, sprinkled the substance within the auditorium, and ignited it using matches, resulting in an outbreak of fire.”

Okyerewaa’s action led to the destruction of items, such as “air conditioners, chairs, windows, ten (10) offering boxes, ceiling materials, electrical cables, and the lighting system.”

They confirmed that, upon their visit to the scene, they retrieved four (4) rubber containers suspected to have been used in committing the offence.”

Consequently, she has been warned and is currently in police custody.“The suspect has been cautioned and is currently in Police custody, assisting with ongoing investigations, ” the statement added.

The Accra Regional Police Command has assured the public of its commitment to ensuring safety and security and has urged members of the public to report any suspicious activities to the police promptly.

Earlier reports suggested that, the woman was captured on CCTV footage pouring a liquid believed to be petrol on chairs near the church’s altar and the one-way entry point to the office of the church’s founder and leader, Pastor Elvis Agyemang.

According to reports, she joined congregants in the church during a prayer session and pretended to be praying.

Personnel monitoring the CCTV cameras spotted her suspicious act and quickly alerted the church’s security team. Before security personnel could arrest the woman, she had already set fire to the chairs, which were burnt alongside a standing air conditioner and about four wooden offering boxes.

However, their swift intervention prevented the fire from spreading to the pastor’s office, averting potential risk to lives.

In reaction to the incident, Alpha Hour convener Pastor Elvis Agyemang announced an indefinite suspension of all physical prayer meetings at the auditorium.

He assured congregants that steps would be taken to restore the facility, stressing that the incident would not derail the ministry’s spiritual activities.

“This will not stop us. We will fix the place, and prayers will continue,” Pastor Agyemang said, adding that the auditorium had suffered several attacks in recent times.

He further disclosed that last year, individuals were captured on CCTV allegedly spreading powders, strange substances and bringing idols into the auditorium.

Police are expected to investigate the matter further as the suspect remains in custody.

About Alpha Hour

Alpha Hour started on February 8 2022, by Pastor Elvis Agyemang, head of Grace Mountain Ministries in Accra.

According to him, the prayer movement was birthed after he saw vision of people sleeping during a meeting , prompting an urge for a wake upfelt called to “wake them up.”

The name “Alpha” was chosen to signify the beginning, and the prayers were set at 12:00 a.m. GMT to symbolize starting the day with God.

Their first meeting was held on Zoom with a few hundred participants joining, to other social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube to reach a wider audience as they particpants grew. From that small start, the prayer movement has expanded to an estimated 80,000 devices globally.

By July 2023, Alpha Hour had gained so much popularity that, about 30 radio and TV stations across Ghana were broadcasting, making it purely accessible to people without internet access to connect. Currently, Alpha Hour has a dedicated TV station to provide a 24/7 platform for Alpha Hour prayers, sermons, and Christian content.

Meanwhile, not only does the Alpha Hour lead people to Christ he is also involved in philantropic activities.

In 2023, he built three school blocks for two underprivileged communities in the country. These communities, Aglakope and Korlekope, located in the Oti Region, received the much-needed infrastructure to support education.

The move by the renowned televangelist, was targeted at uplifting the lives of school children who previously studied in deteriorating structures.

In addition to the completed projects, it was revealed that the pastor is currently involved in the construction of another school block in Ablekuma. Netizens showered praise on the pastor for his philanthropic endeavours, applauding his commitment to making a tangible difference in these communities.