A 46-year-old self-employed man, Wilfred Amesika, has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢60,000 by the Dansoman Circuit Court in Accra after he was charged with defrauding a hairdresser of GH¢50,000 under the pretext of securing a German visa for her.
Amesika, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of defrauding by false pretence—contrary to Section 131(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29)—was granted bail by Her Honour Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered that Amesika provide three sureties, two of whom must be public servants earning no less than GH¢2,000 monthly and residing within the court’s jurisdiction.
He was further directed to deposit his Ghana Card with the court registry and report to the police every two weeks.
The case was adjourned to June 18, 2025.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder told the court that the complainant, Cynthia Awuni, a hairdresser, met the accused through an intermediary, James Baiden, while she was in South Africa seeking better economic opportunities.
In August 2024, Awuni expressed interest in relocating to Germany to join her fiancé. Baiden introduced her to Amesika, who allegedly promised to assist her in acquiring a German visa.
Following a series of communications and assurances, Awuni travelled to Ghana and paid GH¢50,000 as an initial installment toward the GH¢80,000 visa processing fee demanded by the accused.
According to the prosecution, Amesika claimed he could deliver the visa within a month. He later gave Awuni documents for submission to the Netherlands Embassy for transit purposes, but she was denied entry as the documents could not be traced in the system. A similar attempt at the French Embassy also failed.
Awuni, realizing she had been deceived, demanded a refund. However, the accused reportedly went into hiding and stopped answering her calls. After several failed attempts to locate him, Awuni reported the matter to the police on April 23, 2025.
With the help of her brothers, a fake visa deal was proposed to lure Amesika out of hiding.
He resurfaced to discuss the deal and was subsequently arrested and handed over to the police.
During interrogation, Amesika admitted receiving the money but claimed it was used to meet visa-related requirements, not to secure the visa itself.
Investigations concluded with his arraignment before the court.
