The High Court at Amasaman, Accra, has dismissed a bail application filed by lawyers for Evangelist Patricia Asiedua, founder of the Heaven Way Champion International Ministry at Weija. Asiedua, popularly know as Agradaa, is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for defrauding members of her church.
Her lead counsel, Dr Bernard Kofi Asamoah, said the legal team would continue to pursue the appeal. “We wanted bail pending appeal, and the court did not grant it. We will continue the appeal process,” he stated.
The lawyers argued that the sentence from the Circuit Court in Accra was excessive and unsupported by evidence. They also claimed the trial judge was biased and hostile, which denied Asiedua proper legal representation.
On July 3, the Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah, found Asiedua guilty on multiple counts of defrauding by false pretence and charlatanic advertisement. She was convicted for using her church to promote a false “money doubling” scheme.
Prosecutor ASP Emmanuel Haligah told the court that in October 2022, Asiedua advertised
an all-night service, promising to share GH¢300,000 with attendees who needed money for business or rent. Attendees were told to contribute amounts ranging from GH¢500 to GH¢1,000 with the promise of receiving larger sums in return.
Asiedua grouped attendees and promised returns as high as GH¢50,000 per group. However, after collecting the money, she failed to deliver and left the victims stranded.
Investigations confirmed the scheme was fraudulent, and Asiedua admitted the accusations during police questioning.
The High Court has requested the Circuit Court to furnish it with all relevant appeal documents as the case proceeds.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
