The High Court denies jailed Nana Agradaa bail while she files an appeal.
Evangelist Mama Pat, also known as Nana Agradaa, is a Ghanaian televangelist and the founder of the Heaven Way Church. She has appeared in court for the first time since being sentenced to 15 years in prison for defrauding by false pretense and charlatanic advertising.
Agradaa was taken under strict security from Nsawam Prison to the Amasaman High Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, where she requested bail while her appeal was being heard. The presiding judge rejected the bail request in spite of the efforts of her legal team.
Following the hearing, Richard Asare Baffour, her attorney, spoke to the media. He maintained that the appeal had substantial merit and charged that Justice Evelyn Asamoah, the trial judge, had engaged in judicial bias throughout
”The appeal has a strong chance of success due to the flaws that characterised the trial and the bias exhibited by the trial judge”
He added that by ignoring possible mitigating circumstances that might have led to a lighter sentence, the judge had improperly applied Ghana’s Sentencing Guidelines.
On July 3, 2025, Agradaa was found guilty by the Accra Circuit Court, which was chaired by Justice Asamoah. She received a 15-year sentence with hard labor after being found guilty of two counts of defrauding by false pretense and one count of charlatanic advertising.
A televised church service in October 2022, in which Agradaa pledged to “supernaturally double” the congregation’s financial offerings, served as the basis for the charges. It was anticipated that attendees would receive GH₵50,000 if they each contributed GH₵1,000.
