The High Court has ordered Patricia Asiedua popularly known as Nana Agradaa, the founder of Heaven Way Champions International Ministry, to open her defence in a case where she is accused of sharing nude images of a prophet.
The former fetish priestess turned evangelist is facing one count of possessing obscene material and three counts related to the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.
She is standing trial alongside three other accused persons, Enoch Owusu Kissi, Charles Omane and Emmanuel Kofi Gyasi, who have been charged with abetment.
In court, Nana Agradaa’s lawyer pleaded with Justice Yanzuh to postpone the ruling so she could be present, citing her current incarceration.
“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,” counsel Baffour pleaded.
The judge declined the request and delivered the ruling in her absence but instructed the prison authorities to ensure she is brought to court on the next date. Defence lawyers have also been ordered to file their witness statements ahead of the case management conference scheduled for July 30.
According to the prosecution, the incident dates back to 2021 when Nana Agradaa, through her media channel Thunder TV, now Today’s TV, allegedly aired and published the prophet’s nude photos, even using them as a product label for a drink on live television. Prosecutors claim her co-accused made derogatory remarks about the prophet’s nudity during the broadcast.
This fresh legal trouble comes just days after an Accra Circuit Court handed Agradaa a 15-year prison sentence with hard labour for defrauding by false pretences and engaging in charlatanic advertisement.
The sentences are to run concurrently. She was also fined 25 penalty units, which amounts to 300 Ghana cedis.
