LARTEY J.: The plaintiffs are the pastors and members of the True Faith Church at Mpatasie near Trede in the Ashanti Region and bring the action on their own behalf and on behalf of other members of the said church. The defendant was sued as the odikro or chief of Mpatasie and as representing the stool or oman.
About three years prior to the issuance of this writ in June 1982 the plaintiffs had been worshipping and pursuing their Christian faith in peace. That peace was disturbed when the defendant and his elders and the town development committee told the plaintiffs that they were going to slaughter a sheep for the defendant’s fetish called Kobi and that every person living at Mpatasie should pay ¢5 towards the performance of the fetish’s rites. The plaintiffs objected to the payment of this levy but offered to pay, and did pay ¢300 for the purchase of implements for communal labour in the village.
The defendant and his elders later purported to make certain rules in relation to their …