The Anglican Church, Ghana, has started investigations into an incident in which one of its priests was captured on video kissing three female students of St. Monica’s College of Education during a mass on Sunday, 15 August 2021.

“The attention of the hierarchy of the Anglican Church, Ghana, under the leadership of Most Reverend Dr Cyril Kobina-Smith, has been drawn to a circulating video of a priest kissing some female students at the St. Monica’s College of Education within the Asante Mampong Diocese”, a statement signed by the Venerable Dr George Dawson-Amoah, Executive Director to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Ghana, said.

The statement said the “church is saddened by the news and wish to state expressly that thorough investigations have immediately been instituted into the matter and the action of the said priest would be dealt with in accordance with the norms and values of the Anglican Communion where morality is extremely revered in the church”.

Meanwhile, the church said “all efforts are being made to engage the students concerned through counselling sessions to avert any psychological issues that may arise as a result of the viral video”.

The priest, identified as Father Obeng Larbi, kissed the final-year students one after the other right on the rostrum to the excitement of all the other students during the church service.

After planting his lips on the lips of the first two girls, the priest forced his lips on the mouth of the third girl, who was seen resisting.

According to some of the students who witnessed the incident, the priestly kiss was a show of appreciation to the female students for their Bible-reading services to the school.

One of the students told Accra-based Starr FM that Father “didn’t know we were going to post the video”. 

“We were not comfortable with the situation that’s why we were shouting”, she explained, adding: “This is the first time he’s doing this”. 

“He gave the school chaplain a kiss and then did same to the 3 female Bible readers”. 

“The third girl the father kissed is a virgin and that’s why she gave her cheek to the father to kiss but he forced and kissed her lips”, the anonymous student said. 

She said “after the incident, she [the virgin student] said the father had broken her virginity”.