Founder and leader of Glorious Word Power Miracles Church International, Rev Bishop Isaac Owusu Bempah, has made a surprising revelation by claiming ownership of the voice on a leaked audio tape that went viral earlier this month.

The tape, purported to be him, contained threatening remarks towards the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akufo Dampare, and had received widespread criticism from Ghanaians.

In the audio, some of the menacing statements directed at the IGP included references to the speaker's arrest and alleged mistreatment in 2021, suggesting it as the motivation behind the threats.

"Maame, tell Dampare that Akufo-Addo is aware of my contributions to his success, and now that I have started making noise, he is feeling the pressure. Tell Dampare that I am saying that he will regret becoming IGP, and tell him I said what I will do to him in Ghana he will regret. Let him know that if it wasn’t for me Akufo-Addo couldn’t have become president.

Tell Dampare that he has met his match, and he will see what I will do to him. If it wasn't for me, Akufo-Addo wouldn't have become president, never. …Tell him that I will never forgive him on this earth… Tell Dampare that he will regret his position as IGP,” parts of the audio revealed in the local dialect, Twi.

Following the release of the audio and the subsequent backlash, Rev Owusu Bempah issued a statement denying any knowledge of its creation and refuting the validity of the voice attributed to him. He expressed disbelief that any right-thinking person would boast about committing atrocities or heinous crimes as confidently heard in the audio.

“My attention has been drawn to an audio circulating on social media, alleged to be my voice. I wish to emphatically state that I have no knowledge about the creation of the said audio and I also deny categorically that the voice of the speaker in the audio is mine.

“To the best of my knowledge, I have not at any time spoken with any person, whether on phone or in an interview where I have made any such comments attributed to me. I do not believe that any right-thinking person would proudly go about telling others about atrocities or heinous crimes he/she has committed with such confidence as is heard in the audio,” part of the statement said.

He expressed his strong belief that the audio was concocted by individuals with malicious intentions, seeking to damage his reputation and incite public disaffection towards him.

However, the founder of Glorious Word Power Ministry International has now recanted his earlier submission on the content of the audio. He now says, the voice in the audio is actually his.

During a recent address to his congregation, Rev Owusu Bempah clarified that the portion of the audio implicating the President Akufo-Addo in an alleged murder on the Tema motorway.

“Someone’s car somersaulted on Tema Motorway, ask him if the time I met with Akufo-Addo he was there. Ask him if he knows the relationship I have with Akufo-Addo, “ the voice in the audio said.

Rev Owusu however said, “The voice that I went with Nana Addo to commit murder is not my voice, but the voice about the IGP Dampare is mine. After our arrest, I made some comments about the treatment I received. I am not above the law and the law must deal with me when I am found guilty.”

Rev Owusu Bempah also expressed concern over the current focus on statements he made about two years ago, emphasizing that those remarks were made during a time when he was dealing with his arrest. He clarified that he currently harbours no ill feelings towards the IGP.

He recounted the distressing details of his arrest and the mistreatment he endured at the hospital while still under arrest.

“You cannot take the law and abuse the person. That I be handcuffed when there is a drip on me. The handcuff is placed where the drip is, I have been cut by the handcuffs, and I am bleeding. I am seeking answers and the officer is nonchalant, aggravating my pain with the handcuffs. He says it is ordered from above.

"The car that came with eight armed and hooded people had not been addressed, at the time, I spoke out of pain and poured my heart out to whoever came to me, I did not understand why I had to be treated like an animal,” he lamented.

Rev Owusu Bempah was arrested on September 12, 2021, by the Accra Regional Police Command for allegedly creating and circulating multiple videos that contained threats, brandishing of weapons and assault on police personnel.

The arrest followed a heated confrontation between Rev Owusu Bempah and a converted fetish priestess, Nana Agradaa, over the weekend. Rev Owusu Bempah and some of his followers reportedly stormed the premises of Nana Agradaa and threatened her with guns.

Rev Owusu Bempah and three other suspects, namely Michael Boateng, Frederick Ohene and Nathaniel Agyekum, were arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court on September 13, 2021. They pleaded not guilty to charges including disturbing public peace, offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace, threat of death and assault of public officers.

Rev Owusu Bempah fell ill on September 13, 2021, while in police custody and was taken to the Police Hospital for treatment. He spent two hours at the hospital before being discharged and returned to the cells.

He later claimed that he was maltreated by the police and handcuffed to his hospital bed.