The convicted former traditional priestess turned preacher, Patricia Asiedua Asiamah, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, has appealed her 15-year jail term for fraud by the Accra Circuit Court.
In a petition filed at the Amasaman High Court on Monday, Agradaa is challenging both her conviction and sentence on two grounds- that her conviction and sentence were not supported by the evidence on record and that the entire trial was wrong in law.
The petition for appeal was filed and signed by a lawyer for the self-styled preacher, Richard Asare Baffour.
Particulars
On the particulars of the alleged errors committed by the trial Circuit Court, Agradaa claims the trial judge infringed on her right to fair trial by calling her to prove her innocence “when the prosecution had led no or insufficient evidence, contrary to Article 19 (2) (c) of the 1992 Constitution.”
Lawyers for Agradaa also accused the trial circuit judge of “demonstrating manifest bias and personal animosity towards the petitioner by persistently engaging in confrontations, harassment, and intimidation of the accused’s lawyers in open court, thereby denying her adequate and effective representation.”
In addition, lawyers for Agradaa described the 15-year sentence in hard labour as harsh and excessive.
Guilty
On July 3, this year, the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Evelyn Asamoah, slapped Agradaa with a 15-year jail term after finding her guilty of two counts of defrauding by false pretences.
Each of the counts carried a 15-year jail term, but the court ordered Agradaa to serve both concurrently.
The court further fined Agradaa GH¢300 after finding her guilty on an additional charge of charlatanic advertisement.
Agradaa’s criminal conviction was because of a public advertisement she made in 2022 in which she claimed she was sharing a sum of GH¢300,000 and therefore asked the public to visit her church, Heaven Way Champion International Ministry, located at Weija in Accra, to get a share of the donation.
Later at the service, Agradaa was found to have collected money from the public on the pretext that she would double the money for them. However, she ended up not giving out any money.
Delivering the judgment, Ms Asamoah held that the evidence showed that Agradaa made the publication with the clear intention to “deceive the public, make a false representation to the complainants and successfully defrauded them.”
On why Agradaa deserved a punitive punishment of 15 years, the court held that the convict was not a first-time offender, as in 2021, she was convicted and fined GH¢10,000 by a different circuit court on a similar offence.
“The court will impose a deterrent/custodial sentence to deter like-minded leaders and individuals from similar actions,” the court held.
