Much attention was received on Wednesday, December 20 when two Kumasi-based self-proclaimed pastors engaged in a fist fight at the Kumasi Central Market in the Ashanti region. They seemed not to be ashamed to go after each other in public as people looked on. They engaged in the fight over the offering that people were donating to them. The fight broke out when one pastor was receiving more money than the other. Both of them needed money for the Christmas holiday to carry on their ministry.

The fight

The two preachers ripped each other's clothes off as they fought.

The mobile preachers were identified as Evangelist Samuel Kwame Boateng and Evangelist Kwame Poku. The two men had been assaulting each other verbally on other occasions; however, this is the first time it escalated to blows being exchanged.

There was a crowd of people around the two men who watched the entire situation, from the verbal abuses to the physical fight. One person, Adehye FM's Elisha Adarkwah, reported that he witnessed the entire fight when the men turned the marketplace into a boxing ring.

Described as 'shameful'

After the fight was over, Boateng said in an interview that Poku had been verbally threatening him and making attempts to attack him physically.

Boateng admitted that one of the women who saw what was going on advised him to beat Poku to shut him up. Therefore, both preachers engaged in a physical fight which was described by some witnesses as shameful because the men of God were not good examples for others.

Other witnesses commented that the men let greed get in the way of the preaching they were attempting to do.

Elisha Adarkwah from Adehye who was at the scene commented that the men were anxious because the Christmas holiday is fast approaching and both of them wanted as much money as they could get.

It is surprising what the love of money will make people do. It was a shame that the two preachers let their anger for each other and their desire for more money cause them to fight in public.

One comment was that the two pastors demonstrated that the only thing that matters to them is money and not the salvation of their followers.

It was not reported that a police officer was called to arrest the pastors. Therefore, it is believed that the two men ended the fight on their own. It was also not reported how much money was involved or if the two men will meet at the marketplace again to raise money. Even if they do meet, people might be reluctant to donate money to them after last Wednesday's fight.