‘I never believed I would serve 15 years’ - Agradaa on her early release from prison
Patricia Asiedua Asiamah, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, has said she never accepted her initial 15-year prison sentence as her ultimate fate, insisting that her faith in God sustained her throughout her time in custody.
Speaking in an interview aired on Ghana Prisons TV on March 2, 2026, the founder of Heaven Way Champion International Ministry at Weija in Accra recounted her first moments in prison and the fear that gripped her.
“When I was coming to jail, I was scared. I was thinking, as for prison, I am already dead,” she said.
“So when I reached the prison gate, the only thing I said was that I surrender myself to you, Lord, because as I was entering, I didn’t know what to expect.”
She stated that from the beginning, she rejected the notion that she would serve the full term imposed by the court. “From the first day, I never believed I was going to be in prison for 15 years,” she said, adding, “I asked myself, what sin have I committed?”
Agradaa said she drew inspiration from biblical accounts, including the stories of Apostle Peter in Acts Chapter 12 and Paul and Silas in Acts Chapter 16, which she believed demonstrated the power of prayer and divine intervention.
“I threw a lot of challenges to God and told him that if indeed he is the God of yesterday, then what he did for yesterday’s people, he should do the same for me,” she said.
Agradaa was convicted by an Accra Circuit Court on charges of charlatanic advertisement and defrauding by false pretence. The prosecution said she used televised broadcasts on Today’s TV and social media platforms to solicit money from the public under claims of spiritual and financial breakthroughs.
According to the prosecution, hundreds of people attended an all-night service at her church in Weija in the Greater Accra Region and handed over sums of money which were not returned.
The court, presided over by Her Honour Evelyn Asamoah, found her guilty on one count of charlatanic advertisement and five counts of defrauding by false pretence. Sentencing was briefly delayed for a pregnancy test, which returned negative, after which she was handed a 15-year custodial term.
On appeal, the Amasaman High Court upheld the conviction but reviewed the sentence, ruling that it was disproportionate. The court reduced the prison term and imposed a fine, with the revised sentence taking effect from the date of the original conviction.
Her lawyers had argued that the sentence was excessive and not commensurate with the offences. The High Court agreed that the Circuit Court had placed undue emphasis on her personality rather than strictly on the specific facts of the case.
