Lawyers for priestess turned evangelist, Patricia Asiedua Asiamah, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, have filed a notice of appeal challenging the Circuit Court’s decision that sentenced her to 15 years in prison.
Nana Agradaa was convicted by Justice Evelyn Asamoah on July 3, on the charges of defrauding by false pretence and charlatanic advertisement.
However, her legal team argued that the ruling was unjust and that their client was denied a fair trial.
Speaking on July 7, lead counsel Richard Asare Baffour disclosed that the High Court has been petitioned to overturn both the conviction and the sentence.
“We filed the petition of appeal this morning because the judgment delivered by the court is so unreasonable, and the evidence on record does not support it. We have also stated that the trial as a whole is wrong in law, and we are saying that the judge demonstrated manifest bias by harassing and intimidating the accused.”
Richard Asare Baffour
Asare Baffour further revealed that his team intends to file a bail application in the coming days to secure Nana Agradaa’s temporary release as the appeal process unfolds.
The high-profile case has drawn national attention, with critics and supporters of the controversial televangelist sharply divided over the court’s decision.
As proceedings continue, the appeal is expected to ignite fresh legal debate over the fairness of the trial and the broader implications for public figures facing similar charges.
Court Orders Agradaa Nude Defence
The High Court ordered self-styled evangelist and founder of Heaven Way Champions International Ministry, Patricia Asiedua Asiamah, widely known as Nana Agradaa, to open her defence in a case where she is accused of sharing nude images of Prophet Emmanuel Appiah Fomum.
Presiding judge Mary Ekue Yanzuh dismissed a submission of no case filed by Agradaa’s legal team and ruled that the accused must respond to the charges.
“My prayer is that your ruling can be delivered in her presence. We pray for an adjournment and an order for her to be brought to court,” her lawyer, Richard Baffour, pleaded. However, Justice Yanzuh delivered the ruling in her absence, despite the request.
The court also directed prison officials to ensure Agradaa is present at the next hearing and ordered her defence team to file their witness statements ahead of the next proceedings. The case has been adjourned to July 30 for a case management conference.
The judge also instructed that any witness statements be filed within two weeks, setting July 30 at 1:00 p.m.
Agradaa, a former fetish priestess-turned-preacher, is facing one count of possession of obscene material and three counts of non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
According to the prosecution, she allegedly aired nude images of Prophet Fomum on her television station, Thunder TV (now called Today’s TV), in 2021.
“The first accused (Nana Agradaa) also published the nude pictures of the complainant, which she designed in the form of a product label for a drink (bitters) for sale on Thunder TV,” the prosecution stated. “On that particular programme, she shared and published the nude pictures of the said prophet.”
The charges also implicate three others, Enoch Owusu Kissi, Charles Omane, and Emmanuel Kofi Gyasi, who are accused of abetment of crime.
“The second to fourth accused persons were passing disparaging remarks about the complainant’s nudity. The first accused person also caused an employee of her TV station to publish nude pictures of the complainant.”
The prosecution
The case had previously been dismissed by the Circuit Court, but state prosecutors refiled the charges at the High Court.
READ ALSO: UBA Ghana Board Chair Wins Top Honour for Financial Stewardship at UBA Ghana
