Fake spiritualist jailed for taking GH¢95,100 in chief installation scam

A self-styled spiritualist based in Teshie has been sentenced to three years in prison after admitting that she deceived a man with promises of making him chief and doubling his money.

Nana Adwoa Yamoah, 35, was convicted by an Accra Circuit Court after pleading guilty to defrauding by false pretences and operating without registration or a licence.

The complainant, Douglas Abu, who lives at Ntotroso in the Ashanti Region, was introduced to her in 2025 through a witness, Grace Fosua, according to the prosecution.

Police told the court that Yamoah presented herself as someone with connections to the Asantehene and claimed she could arrange Abu’s enstoolment as chief of Ntotroso.

That claim, prosecutors said, led Abu to hand over money to her over time on the understanding that he would be installed by January.

The deception did not end there. The court heard that she also took GH¢51,000 from him after promising she could multiply the amount, but never did.

She then convinced him to travel with her to Benin, supposedly for spiritual fortification, with the complainant footing the cost. Prosecutors said that promised exercise never happened either.

When Abu became suspicious and demanded his money back, Yamoah did not refund him. He later reported the matter to the police, leading to her arrest on 9 March 2026.

During investigations, she reportedly asked for time to repay the money but failed to do so.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Augustine Kingsley Oppong also told the court that investigators found she was not registered with the Traditional Medicine Practice Council and had used similar methods to defraud other people.

The case was heard by the court presided over by Dennis Eyram Fumey. Sentencing was briefly delayed for a pregnancy test, which later came back negative, after which the court imposed the three-year custodial term.