Benjamin Tachie Antiedu, a private legal practitioner and Legal academic in Ghana, has expressed his views on the recent sentencing of self-proclaimed evangelist Nana Agradaa. Agradaa was handed a 15-year jail term for charlatanic advertisement and defrauding by false pretenses.
According to Antiedu, the judge was lenient with Agradaa, and he would have extended her jail term to 20 years. Antiedu’s comments are based on Section 131 of the Criminal Offenses Act, which states that defrauding by false pretenses is a second-degree felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years and not more than 25 years.
Antiedu’s argument is that Agradaa’s actions were a clear case of defrauding by false pretenses, and therefore, she could have been sentenced to up to 25 years in imprisonment. He believes that the judge’s decision to sentence her to 15 years was lenient and that a longer sentence would have been more appropriate.
It is worth noting that Antiedu’s comments are not an official statement from the judiciary or the government of Ghana. However, his views highlight the ongoing debate about the role of the judiciary in sentencing individuals who engage in fraudulent activities, particularly those who exploit the vulnerable under the guise of religion.