The Amasaman High Court has significantly reduced evangelist Nana Agradaa’s prison term from 15 years to one year, citing judicial discretion.
While affirming her guilt for defrauding by false pretences and charlatanic advertisement, the court found the initial sentence with hard labour to be disproportionate to the offence.
The revised one-year term, applied retroactively from her July 2025 conviction, follows significant public and legal debate over the severity of her original punishment.
The circuit court in Accra sentenced Nana Agradaa to 15 years imprisonment with hard labour for defrauding followers through a false “money-doubling” promise.
The conviction marks the culmination of a long-running legal saga involving the once-popular traditional priestess-turned-evangelist, legally named Patricia Asieduaa.
Agradaa, founder of the Heaven Way Champion International Ministry in Weija, Accra, first gained notoriety through media broadcasts promoting “Sika Gari” (money-doubling) rituals.
Her controversial career has included prior convictions, public feuds, and now, a substantial prison term.
In June 2021, she was convicted and fined GH₵36,000 for “charlatanic advertisement” related to televised money-doubling promises. Her high-profile disputes have included a GH₵20 million defamation suit filed by gospel singer Empress Gifty in 2025.
The current sentence stems from an October 2022 event at her church, heavily advertised on Today‑TV. Agradaa promised congregants that money donated during an all-night service would be supernaturally doubled, displaying bundles of cash on camera and instructing groups to donate GH₵1,000 per person for promised returns of GH₵50,000.
Hundreds attended, but police received multiple complaints that promised payouts never materialized. Authorities estimate over a thousand people may have been defrauded, with at least six filing official reports.
Following a mid‑2025 trial on six counts, Agradaa was convicted on July 3, 2025, of one count of charlatanic advertisement and four counts of defrauding by false pretences. Two fraud counts were dismissed for insufficient evidence.
After a mandatory pregnancy test returned negative, the judge imposed a 15-year prison sentence with hard labour, to be served concurrently.
While charlatanic advertisement typically carries lighter penalties, the fraud convictions involving an estimated GH₵300,000 carry heavier felony sentences. Ghanaian media reported the ruling was hailed as a significant step against religious fraud.
Agradaa’s lawyer, Richard Asare-Baffour, has raised serious objections, calling the conviction “a typical example of clandestine justice” in exclusive comments to DUBAWA.
He questioned why Agradaa was required to mount a defence on counts later dismissed for lack of evidence, noting: “If you knew that prosecution led no evidence… what basis did you have for doing so?”
Asare-Baffour also challenged video evidence, arguing key alleged transactions weren’t visible, and noted that individuals identified by the court as “collaborators” weren’t charged.
He maintained Agradaa was “sentenced… because of who she is and not what she did,” confirming an appeal will be filed in the High Court.
The convictions fall under Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960:
- Charlatanic Advertisement (Section 137): Criminalizes false claims exploiting belief in supernatural powers for gain.
- Defrauding by False Pretences (Sections 131-132): Requires proof of knowingly false representation intended to deceive and obtain property.
While Ghana’s Constitution guarantees religious freedom, it explicitly prohibits using such freedoms to defraud others. The defence contends the sentence may violate constitutional principles of due process, fair trial, and proportional sentencing.
Agradaa begun serving her sentence following the court ruling while her church continues operations under her husband, Pastor Eric Asiamah, who has urged congregants to remain prayerful.