The Court of Appeal in Madagascar has, for the second time in succession, dismissed appeals challenging a two-year jail term in a theft case against Odonkor, a former Lighthouse pastor.

Odonkor had been sentenced to prison for fraudulently stealing and selling a vehicle belonging to Lighthouse Chapel, Madagascar, and embezzling and dissipating the proceeds.

A warrant for the arrest of Odonkor has been issued and addressed to the two National heads of the country’s security agencies. He is to be arrested anytime he enters the territory of Madagascar, either by air or by land.

The warrant of arrest contains his passport number, the names of his parents, his address in Ghana, and a phone number to be called when anyone sights him in the territory of Madagascar.

He will therefore be arrested and jailed anytime he arrives in Madagascar, per the Warrant of Arrest.

Odonkor is leading six former pastors who dragged Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI) to court in Ghana in April 2021, accusing the church of illegality, unpaid SSNIT contributions, breach of contract, and maltreatment.

But SSNIT exonerated the church in August 2021 of the said allegations by ruling that the church does not owe Odonkor any contributions.

According to the Prosecutor, Odonkor was the Head Pastor of the LCI- Madagascar till December 2019, when he moved to Accra.

After he moved, he is said to have masterminded the fraudulent sale of the car in Madagascar and appropriated the entire proceeds of the sale to himself.

Before leaving Madagascar, he gave instructions to three different people, including his assistant, to help him sell the car.

They all sincerely believed the car was his personal property. Odonkor consistently denied these charges, but WhatsApp chats between him and his assistant exposed him as the architect and engineer behind the infamous fraudulent sale.

The chats revealed that he instructed his innocent assistant to sell the car to “the highest bidder,” following which the car was sold for 50 million Ariary.

After the sale, Odonkor instructed that part of the money be used to pay for land he was buying in Madagascar, and to also pay for expenses on his cows in Madagascar, and this was done as instructed.

The WhatsApp chats revealed further that he found another dubious means of getting the balance to be paid into his personal bank account in Accra. These pieces of evidence revealed to the court that all the proceeds of the sale went solely to Odonkor.

Based on these facts, the Criminal Tribunal of Madagascar on 18th April 2023 found Odonkor guilty of fraudulent breach of trust, dissipation and embezzlement of funds and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment. He was also ordered to repay 75 million Ariary in damages to the church.

In 2023, Odonkor denounced the judgment on his Facebook page, describing it as having been obtained through the back door and without notice to him, and said he had appealed against it and would be vindicated.

In 2023, he engaged a lawyer, Johary Stephen Rasendrarivo, who represented him and made arguments on his behalf during the two appeals with a series of documents, but he lost both appeals.

The legal representations started when he began fighting the appeals.

Larry was notified by the court of appeals through DHL mail, and the first appeal was fixed for hearing on 12th December 2023 and then adjourned to 30th January 2024.

On both occasions, Odonkor’s lawyer, Rasendrarivo, was present, but Larry was absent. The case was then adjourned to 26th March 2024, but both Larry and his lawyer were absent.

The court, frustrated with their absence, adjourned the case to 23rd April 2024, and notice was served on them for the next date.

The court gave an ultimatum for them to be present. Once again, both the lawyer and Larry were absent. We have cited 4 DHL mails from the Madagascar court to Larry notifying him of the court dates, with Larry signing them to acknowledge receipt.

The appeal was eventually dismissed on 7th May 2024 with costs awarded against Larry.

Larry’s lawyer immediately filed another appeal. InAugust 2025, Larry’s lawyer served several documents on the Prosecution to buttress the appeal. These documents included WhatsApp chats between Larry and an officer of LCI Madagascar in which Larry denies selling the car.

After hearing the appeal, the court on 28th November 2025 dismissed it as being without any merit

Odonkor is allegedly involved in yet another criminal case in which the Attorney General of Ghana has appealed against his acquittal.

This is also a case of alleged stealing. He is charged with stealing monies entrusted to him by Lighthouse Chapel International, Ghana, to pay SSNIT contributions and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Taxes on behalf of the church.

In the notice of appeal, the Attorney stated, among other things, that the learned trial judge erred when she found that Odonkor had indeed taken monies belonging to the church, but still held that the squandering of the money by Odonkor was not dishonest. The appeal has been fixed for hearing in December 2025.