A former Deputy Minister of Communications, Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, has waded into the controversy surrounding Sammy Gyamfi’s gifting of cash to fetish priestess-turned-evangelist Nana Agradaa.
Madam Hamah has asked the President to reprimand the Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) rather than dismiss him from office.
The controversy arose after Agradaa approached Sammy Gyamfi for money for fuel when the duo met at a funeral on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
According to Agradaa, Sammy gave her US$800, which has sparked public outrage, especially after President Mahama launched a Code of Conduct for Public Officials a few days earlier.
Critics have pointed to the video as potentially undermining the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, which emphasizes integrity, accountability, and transparency in public service.
Many party faithful have been outraged after the incident, not over the gesture per se, but the person involved, who is a controversial religious figure claiming to be an evangelist after being previously arrested for defrauding many as a fetish priestess.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Madam Hamah, who was dismissed as Deputy Minister for making certain comments during President Mahama’s first term, acknowledged the sensitivity of the matter but argued that rather than outright dismissal, Sammy Gyamfi could be reprimanded for his gesture.
“I respectfully submit that a formal reprimand, rather than exclusion from office, represents the most constitutionally sound and developmentally judicious response. This recommendation emerges not as an attempt to trivialise the gravity of the situation, but rather as a call for balanced adjudication – one that recognises the necessity of accountability while remaining anchored in the principles of mentorship, institutional resilience, and democratic maturation,” portions of her post contained.
