Self-styled prophetess gets 5 years jail term for stealing
A 45-year-old self-styled prophetess has been sentenced to five years in prison by the Asante Akropong Circuit Court in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District for stealing personal belongings and cash valued at GH¢ 27,270 at Asante Abuakwa.
Ama Salifu, who is also a trader, pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing and was convicted on her own plea by the court, presided over by Mrs. Gloria Mensah Bonsu.
Police Chief Inspector Evans Ayimbisa, presenting the facts of the case to the court, described the convict as a confident trickster.
He said that on April 17 this year, the convict met one Josephina Owusuaa, the first complainant, on her way to a laundry at the Abuakwa SDA junction.
The convict stopped her and introduced herself as a prophetess with a message from God for her.
She then instructed the complainant to leave her bag, which contained GH¢1,200 in cash and an iPhone XR valued at GH¢3,000, with a trader at the junction and go to a certain woman at the Abuakwa Shell filling station for a spiritual message.
The prosecution said the complainant complied but could not find the said woman. When she returned, both the convict and her bag were gone.
She went to the trader for her bag but was informed that the convict had posed as her mother and collected it. The case was subsequently reported to the Abuakwa Police.
According to the prosecution, in early August 2025, the convict again introduced herself as a prophetess to a 16-year-old girl at the Abuakwa market, telling her that her mother, Priscilla Owusu Achiaa, the second complainant, was under a serious spiritual attack and needed deliverance.
The girl led the convict home, where she collected 29 pieces of new material garments, two kente garments, two pairs of ladies’ slippers, and four pieces of wax prints—all valued at GH¢20,000—belonging to the second complainant and her sister.
She also took an iPhone 6s valued at GH¢900 and GH¢170 in cash, claiming she needed the items for intercessory prayers to aid their deliverance.
Chief Inspector Ayimbisa said the convict went into hiding after collecting the items until October 13, 2025, when she was spotted and arrested at Abuakwa-Manhyia.
In her caution statement, she admitted to the theft and told the police that she had sold the items to someone at Kumasi-Krofrom but could not lead them to the buyer.
After further investigations, she was charged and brought before the court.
