‘Money doubling’ fetish priest given ultimatum

A self-styled traditional priest who failed to turn GH¢8,000 belonging to a trader into GH¢80,000 as promised was yesterday given a 24-hour ultimatum by the Accra Circuit Court to refund the money.

The ultimatum followed a plea by Benjamin Doe to the court to give him ample time to refund the money with interest.

The spiritualist had earlier been found guilty of defrauding by false pretence by the court, presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh.

In view of the ultimatum, the court deferred the punishment it would mete out to Doe to today.

Apart from the GH¢8,000, the spiritualist is said to have collected GH¢13,540 from his victim to buy some items to convince his gods to help multiply the money by 10.

Mode of operation

Doe is said to be a well-known fetish priest who advertises his trade in the media

His victim got in touch with him after watching one of his appearances on a local television station, where he professed to have the power to help grow people’s businesses.

Be wise

While reading the judgement, the court advised people to work hard and desist from exploring short-cuts to riches.

“Instead of working hard and engaging in productive and legal business ventures, the victim resorted to getting free money which did not exist,’’ it said.

It further urged people not to fall for anything that they saw in the media, as many unscrupulous people used the media to propagate their illegality.

“The media are now being used by fraudulent spiritualists to enhance their credibility. We have to be careful because not everything from the media is the truth,’’ the presiding judge advised.

Facts

The facts of the case, as presented by the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr A. Suleman, were that the victim was a trader residing in Prestea in the Western Region, while Doe claims to be a fetish priest resident at Adjen Kotoku near Accra.

He said some time in February, the victim saw an advertisement by Doe on a local television channel in which he (Doe) claimed to have the powers to help businesses flourish.

The victim, the prosecutor said, called the number provided in the advertisement and Doe directed him to his house at Adjen Kotoku.

“Doe showed the victim some of his works, such as doubling money, ‘dry pockets’ and ‘sika duro’. The victim, after listening to Doe, expressed interest in having his money doubled. Doe then demanded GH¢8,000 to turn into GH¢80,000,’’ he said.

ASP Suleman added that Doe later took another GH¢13,540 from the victim to buy some items “to pacify the gods’’.

“Doe failed to honour his promise and all efforts to retrieve the money proved futile. The victim reported the matter to the police and Doe was arrested on April 10, 2015,’’ he said.