How We Got Here: The Sika Gari Case

The story of Nana Agradaa’s incarceration begins with a 2022 broadcast. The self-styled evangelist — a former traditional priestess who rebranded as a Christian televangelist — ran an all-night service at her Weija-based Heaven Way Champion International Church in Accra, promising congregants miraculous financial returns through a scheme she called “Sika Gari” — a supposedly spiritual money-doubling practice. Participants paid varying sums of money with the expectation that Agradaa would spiritually double their funds; instead, the money was never returned.

Complaints from defrauded congregants led to a criminal investigation. On July 3, 2025, an Accra Circuit Court found her guilty on two counts of defrauding by false pretences and one count of charlatanic advertisement under Ghana’s Criminal and Other Offences Act. The trial judge, citing the predatory nature of the crime and the deliberate abuse of religious trust, handed down a 15-year custodial sentence with hard labour — widely seen as a landmark deterrent against the rising tide of faith-based fraud in West Africa.

“The Court has made a mockery of Ghana’s Criminal Justice system. This is basically saying that you can do anything wrong and get away with it.”  — Charles Bawaduah, MP for Bongo, February 7, 2026

The High Court Reversal

What changed everything was the appeal. On February 5, 2026, the Amasaman High Court delivered a ruling that split legal opinion down the middle. Justice Solomon Oppong Twumasi upheld the conviction on all counts but drastically reduced the sentence from 15 years to 12 months, adding a fine of 200 penalty units (approximately GH¢2,400) and an order to refund GH¢1,000 to victims. The court’s reasoning was that the original sentencing “focused disproportionately on the personality of the convict rather than the specific circumstances of the offences” and was excessive in relation to the amounts involved.

The ruling detonated an immediate controversy. Lawyer and Bongo MP Charles Bawaduah publicly called it “a mockery of Ghana’s Criminal Justice system,” arguing that the nature and scale of the offences — organised, faith-based fraud targeting vulnerable individuals — warranted a substantially longer term. Constitutional law scholar Professor Kwaku Asare (Kwaku Azar) argued the ruling replaces established sentencing law with “personal philosophy and metaphors,” creating what he called “a dangerous void” that risks making the justice system a deterrent laughingstock for would-be fraudsters.

On the other side, crowds of Agradaa’s supporters erupted in cheers outside the courtroom, viewing the reduction as “justice tempered with mercy.” Her legal team argued procedural flaws in the original trial — including an improper shifting of the burden of proof onto the defendant — and expressed satisfaction with the outcome while noting they were not entirely pleased.

How Ghana’s Remission Scheme Works

Agradaa’s release today is the outcome of a routine correctional process, not a special favour — a point her lawyer Richard Asare Baffour has repeatedly emphasised. Under Ghana’s prison remission scheme, inmates who demonstrate good conduct may be released after serving two-thirds of their custodial sentence. One-third is remitted by the state as a statutory incentive for rehabilitation. Applied to the 12-month sentence running from the original conviction date of July 3, 2025, the effective custodial period is eight months, placing the release date at March 3, 2026.

“This is not a special favour. It is the normal application of the law as it relates to remission,” Baffour said in his Channel 1 TV interview on February 27. “When you are handed down a prison term, there is a remission scheme. If you earn it, the term is divided into three. So, the state will take one-third, and she takes two-thirds of it.” The Ghana Prisons Service confirmed the computation. Agradaa’s conviction stands in full — her release does not constitute exoneration, and the fraud charges remain on her criminal record.

What Happens Next

Agradaa’s release will be closely watched by several constituencies. Her Godsway International Church — which has been undergoing a reported facelift in anticipation of her return — is expected to welcome her back with considerable fanfare from a loyal following that has maintained its support throughout her incarceration. Media personality Afia Schwarzenegger was among those publicly sharing the release date with fans.

For Ghana’s legal and religious communities, the more pressing question is what the case’s final outcome signals. Critics have warned that a sentence reduction of this magnitude — from 15 years to effectively eight months served — sends a dangerous message to others operating faith-based enterprises on the margins of the law. The Attorney-General’s office has not publicly confirmed whether an appeal against the sentence reduction is being pursued. Ghana’s blooming “prophet economy” has produced dozens of similar figures making spectacular financial and spiritual promises to congregants, and this case was widely expected to serve as a deterrent.

Whether Agradaa’s story represents a cautionary tale or a survivable setback will depend on what she does next. A return to high-profile religious broadcasting — which made her one of Ghana’s most recognisable media personalities before her conviction — seems likely. Whether regulators and prosecutors maintain vigilance over the broader ecosystem of charismatic religious commerce in Ghana is the question that her case leaves unanswered.