Founder and leader of Heaven’s Gate Ministries, Nicholas Osei, popularly known as Prophet Kumchacha, has explained his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.

Kumchacha, who had earlier declared his intention to contest as an independent candidate under the Kum People’s Party (KPP), revealed that the requirements set by the Electoral Commission (EC) influenced his decision to step down.

In an interview on Kingdom FM, Kumchacha noted that although he could afford the mandatory GHS 100,000 filing fee, he decided against it after assessing his chances of success.

“I have money, I could have afforded the GHS 100,000 fee, but I can’t pay that amount knowing that I will lose,” he candidly said.

Kumchacha shared that after gathering intelligence and conducting his own survey, he realized that he wouldn’t even make it past the EC’s initial vetting process.

“I had gathered information and intelligence told me based on their survey, I won’t even go past EC’s requirement. The likes of Bernard Mornah, Sam Ankrah did not even have it easy so I knew this year, I wont stand a chance”.

Despite his withdrawal, Kumchacha expressed confidence that he would have made an excellent president, dismissing concerns about his lack of fluency in English.

During his campaign, he had pledged to tackle key national issues such as housing affordability through rent control reforms.

He also promised to reform the criminal justice system by reducing prison sentences for minor offenses and creating state-sponsored employment opportunities for offenders.