I am not in jail anywhere – Ex-Lighthouse pastor reacts to Madagascar court sentence

Pastor Larry Odonkor, a former pastor of Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI), has reacted to reports of a jail term slapped on him by a Court of Appeal in Madagascar for his involvement in the fraudulent sale of a car.

According to a recent report by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), pastor Odonkor was found guilty of fraudulent breach of trust, stating that he had "embezzled or dissipated" various sums of money that belonged to Madagascar LCI, to the detriment of the church.

He is said to have sold a vehicle belonging to the church and kept the proceeds from the sale of the vehicle estimated to be around GHC200,000.

Thus the court in default sentenced him to a two-year jail term on counts of fraudulent breach of trust, money laundering, theft, and defrauding by false pretenses.

But reacting to the report in a Facebook post, pastor Odonkor said he remains a free man in Ghana and has not been incarcerated as has been purported.

“I am NOT in jail anywhere. I am a free man in Ghana,” he stated.

Setting the records straight on the case, Pastor Odonkor said the church had lost a civil case and a subsequent appeal of the same on the supposed sale of the vehicle.

He noted that the church later commenced a criminal process and acquired the said judgement without bringing the matter to his attention.

“There was a civil case of car theft brought against me in Madagascar by the Lighthouse Chapel International which they lost.

“They appealed and l was informed by my lawyer they lost though l am yet to get a copy of the ruling.

“Unknown to me, the church had filed a criminal case on the same car issue and gone to court without me having any representation.

“In May of 2023, l received a DHL of the court ruling saying l had been found guilty and convicted for two years with 2 weeks to appeal,” he wrote.

According to him, his lawyers in Madagascar who describe the ruling as irregular have since filed an appeal to have the ruling set aside.

“My Lawyer in Madagascar informs me he has filed to set aside the ruling because it was irregular. He tells me we are awaiting a new date for re-trial. I am therefore awaiting the new trial dates and my lawyer will represent me,” he added.

The case as reported by GNA

According to the GNA report, the prosecution's case argued that Pastor Odonkor served as the head pastor of LCI-Madagascar until December 2019, when he relocated to Accra.

It was during this transition that the church's official vehicle assigned to him while in Madagascar went missing.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that Pastor Odonkor had instructed three individuals to help him sell the car before leaving Madagascar.

One of these individuals was his assistant pastor, Edmund Amartey, who was unaware that the car did not belong to Pastor Odonkor.

Pastor Amartey subsequently sold the car and handed over all the proceeds to him.

The prosecution presented WhatsApp chat screenshots between Pastor Odonkor and Pastor Amartey as evidence, demonstrating that Odonkor had instructed his assistant to sell the car and send him all the proceeds from the sale.

Additionally, WhatsApp conversations between Pastor Odonkor and an administrator of LCIGhana were submitted as part of the prosecution's evidence.

The prosecution alleged that Pastor Odonkor had also found a covert way to receive a portion of the sale proceeds in Accra through an administrator of LCI-Ghana without disclosing the illicit source of the funds, leading to charges of money laundering.

Although the church did not file a complaint against Pastor Edmund, the court decided to include him as a co-accused due to his role in the car sale.

However, he was later acquitted and discharged by the court, as it became clear that he had innocently assisted Pastor Odonkor in selling the vehicle and had not personally benefited from the sale.

In his defence, Pastor Edmund provided a written apology from Larry Odonkor after challenging him for falsely accusing him in a publication of selling the car without disclosing the whereabouts of the money.

Pastor Edmund produced all the WhatsApp chats as evidence to refute these claims.

The article also mentions that LCI-Madagascar has been informed that Pastor Odonkor, who was sentenced in absentia, has filed an appeal against the court's decision.

However, to contest the judgment, he must appear in person in Madagascar. Additionally, an arrest warrant has been issued for Pastor Odonkor, enabling his arrest if he enters Madagascar's territory.

GA/SARA

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