A 48-year-old pastor, David Doe Kwaku, has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢150,000 by the Dansoman Circuit Court after being charged with defrauding a Ghanaian nurse based in the United States of America of GH¢130,000 under the pretext of securing parcels of land.
Presiding over the case, Her Honour Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit ordered that the bail be backed by three sureties — two of whom must be public servants earning not less than GH¢5,000 per month and residing within the court’s jurisdiction, while the third surety must justify the bail with property documentation equivalent to the bail sum.
The court further directed Pastor Kwaku to surrender his Ghana Card to the court registry and to report weekly to the police pending the outcome of the trial.
Pastor Kwaku, who resides at Dawhenya, near Tema, has been charged with two counts of defrauding by false pretence, contrary to Section 131 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
He pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court after failing to appear for a previously scheduled hearing on June 2.
Prosecution’s Case
Presenting the facts of the case, Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder told the court that the complainant, Mr. Senyo Tsakpoe Nelson, is a Ghanaian nurse residing in the U.S. In 2018, Mr. Tsakpoe allegedly transferred GH¢70,000 to Pastor Kwaku, who claimed he could secure land near Central University, Tema.
However, despite multiple follow-ups over two years, no land or supporting documents were provided.
In a second transaction in 2023, Pastor Kwaku is said to have persuaded Mr. Tsakpoe to send an additional GH¢60,000 for another piece of land, this time at Abbey, Dawhenya. Once again, no land was delivered, and all attempts to verify the existence of the property proved futile.
The prosecution said Mr. Tsakpoe had appointed Justice Amenuveve Agboh, a teacher in Dome, Accra, through a power of attorney to handle the land transactions on his behalf. Prosecutors allege that Pastor Kwaku, previously a close friend of Mr. Tsakpoe, exploited that trust to perpetrate the alleged fraud.
Mr. Tsakpoe’s wife, who witnessed both payments, later urged her husband to cut ties with the accused after years of unmet promises. In March 2025, Mr. Tsakpoe finally instructed his attorney-in-fact to report the matter to the police.
Investigations revealed that Pastor Kwaku was already in custody at Aveyime in the Volta Region in connection with a separate fraud case.
Acting on a wireless message from the Accra Regional CID, he was transferred to Accra on March 18, 2025. Although granted police inquiry bail, he allegedly breached the terms and went into hiding.
With assistance from the complainant, police rearrested Pastor Kwaku on May 30, 2025, at a hideout. During questioning, the accused reportedly admitted to receiving GH¢92,000 from Mr. Tsakpoe for the land deals — an amount lower than the total GH¢130,000 stated in the complaint.
The court has ordered the prosecution to file all disclosures and witness statements by August 4, 2025, in preparation for the Case Management Conference (CMC).