Founder and General Overseer of Power Chapel Worldwide, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, has delivered a defiant defence of his relationship with former Vice President and 2028 New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, declaring that he would rather face imprisonment than distance himself from the former vice president.

Rev. Kusi Boateng made the remarks while addressing his congregation, with Dr Bawumia and his wife, Hajia Samira Bawumia, reportedly present at the church service.

Portions of his address have since circulated widely on social media, attracting renewed attention to the pastor’s relationship with the former vice president and his previous involvement in the controversial National Cathedral project.

The outspoken clergyman made it clear that he had no intention of concealing his friendship with the Bawumias because of criticism, political pressure or any controversy surrounding their association.

“I don’t care whoever thinks about it. Dr Bawumia is my friend and will continue to be my friend. I will not hide it. I’m not a hypocrite,” Rev. Kusi Boateng said.

He went further, challenging anyone who believed his relationship with the former vice president constituted an offence to take whatever action they considered appropriate.

“And if for this reason anybody wants to imprison me, go ahead. Prison is not for animals. It’s for human beings. I’ve been there; I didn’t die, I came back,” he declared.

Rev. Kusi Boateng insisted that there was nothing criminal about maintaining a friendship with Dr Bawumia and his wife, stressing that he would not apologise for his association with them.

He described Dr Bawumia and Hajia Samira as not merely friends but people he considers part of his close circle and family.

“And so it is not a crime to be a friend,” he said, before adding that Dr Bawumia and Hajia Samira Bawumia were his “friends, my sisters, my brothers, and my bosom friends”.

The comments have generated interest partly because they come at a time when Dr Bawumia’s political activities are being closely watched following his emergence as the NPP flagbearer for the 2028 general election.

Rev. Kusi Boateng’s public declaration therefore places his personal relationship with the Bawumia family in the spotlight, particularly against the backdrop of controversies that have previously surrounded the pastor.

Although Rev. Kusi Boateng did not specifically link his comments about imprisonment to the National Cathedral investigation, his remarks have inevitably revived discussions about his previous role in the project.

He served as Executive Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, a major state-backed religious infrastructure project that has faced intense public scrutiny over its financing, administration and procurement arrangements.

The National Cathedral project remains under scrutiny, with the government pursuing a forensic examination of the project’s finances and operations.

A Deloitte audit covering the National Cathedral Secretariat’s operations between 2021 and 2023 reportedly identified financial and procurement irregularities and raised questions about the management of public funds.

The current administration subsequently moved to broaden the examination through a forensic audit because the Deloitte exercise did not cover the entire scope of the project and its Secretariat.

The National Cathedral Secretariat was dissolved by President John Dramani Mahama’s administration in May 2025, while steps were also initiated concerning the dissolution of the Board of Trustees.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine has previously indicated that his office would await the forensic audit before determining whether prosecution could proceed in relation to matters arising from the National Cathedral.

PwC was engaged to conduct the forensic audit, with government officials indicating that the exercise had made significant progress.

It is against this complicated background that Rev. Kusi Boateng’s latest declaration has attracted renewed attention.

Rather than distancing himself from Dr Bawumia amid the political and public scrutiny, the pastor has chosen to make his position public from his own pulpit.

His comments suggest that he regards his relationship with the former vice president as a personal friendship that should not be determined by political developments or public criticism.

He also appeared to draw from his own past experience of imprisonment to demonstrate that the prospect of incarceration would not force him to abandon people he considers friends.

“I have been there. I didn’t die. I came back,” he said.