The High Court in Amasaman has reduced the 15-year jail term imposed on self-styled traditionalist turned evangelist Patricia Asiedu Asiamah, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, to 12 months, describing the original sentence as “unusually harsh and excessive.”
Delivering judgment on Thursday, February 5, 2026, Justice Solomon Oppong-Twumasi upheld Agradaa’s appeal against the sentence handed down by the Accra Circuit Court in July 2025.
“Considering all the circumstances of the case together, I came to the irresistible conclusion that the sentence of 15 years imprisonment imposed on the Appellant was indeed unusually harsh and excessive,” Justice Oppong-Twumasi ruled.
The reduced 12-month sentence takes effect from July 3, 2025, the date Agradaa was convicted and sentenced by the Circuit Court. In addition to the custodial sentence, the High Court imposed a fine of GH¢2,400 on the convict, with a default prison term of three months in case of non-payment.
Agradaa was originally convicted on two counts of defrauding by false pretences and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
The conviction arose from a televised broadcast in 2022 during which she publicly announced that she would distribute GH¢300,000 to the needy at a church service. Several individuals subsequently gave her various sums of money, but she failed to fulfil the promise and did not return the funds.
In allowing the appeal on sentence, the High Court criticised the Circuit Court for imposing what it described as a disproportionate punishment.
Justice Oppong-Twumasi held that the trial judge appeared to have been unduly influenced by the personality of the accused rather than focusing on the gravity of the offence itself.
“The trial judge did not fairly consider the enormity of the crime involved, but she became fixated only on the person involved in imposing the sentence on the Appellant,” the court stated.
The High Court further noted that the fraud involved only two complainants, each of whom lost GH¢500, bringing the total amount to GH¢1,000.
While clarifying that the relatively small sum and limited number of victims did not excuse the offence or diminish the suffering of the complainants, the court said these factors ought to have been weighed in determining an appropriate sentence.
The judgment also pointed to procedural unfairness at the trial stage, stating that the Circuit Court failed to adequately address inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence.
“There were indeed some inconsistencies in the evidence of both sides, but strangely, in her judgment, the Honourable trial judge only commented on the inconsistencies in the evidence of the Appellant but did not even in passing, comment on the inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case,” Justice Oppong-Twumasi observed.
The High Court’s decision brings to an end Agradaa’s lengthy incarceration on the matter, with the convict now expected to serve the remaining portion of the 12-month term, subject to any further legal developments or remission for good behaviour.