Josephine Mensah: The Takoradi woman fake pregnancy and kidnapping story so far
On Thursday, September 16, 2021, news broke of the alleged kidnapping of a 9-month-old pregnant woman, at Takoradi in the Western Region.
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see YEN.com.gh News on your News Feed!
The woman, Josephine Panyin Mensah Simons according to news filed by Pulse.com, went on her early morning routine around the Paa Grant roundabout and never returned.
Her husband, who was very much worried lodged a complaint with the Takoradi police, where frantic investigation and search began.
Source: UGC
YEN.com.gh has compiled all the stories so far about the kidnapping and pregnancy down to the time of her confession
Found in Axim
On Tuesday, September 21, Ghanaians woke up to the news that the missing pregnant woman has been found in Axim in the Western Region without her pregnant belly or her baby.
Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!
According to the carpenter who found her lying around the Jehovah's witness church in Axim, she looked all shocked and could hardly utter a word and asked for a piece of paper to write down a number to be called.
Fast forward, her family was contacted and she was sent on admission to the Axim hospital.
Interestingly, per her narrative, she was kidnapped with 12 other pregnant women but she was spared because she was a twin, and twins were not needed for the sacrifice.
Woman never pregnant
In less than 48 hours after Josephine was found, the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, revealed that the found woman who was allegedly kidnapped while pregnant was not.
According to him, preliminary investigation and examination by a medical doctor in charge of the kidnapped lady at the Axim government hospital revealed she was not pregnant.
The regional minister, in an interview with Angel FM, stated that initial investigations by the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI), indicated that the story of the kidnapping was also fake.
Husband insisting wife was pregnant
The husband of the missing but found Takoradi pregnant woman, Michael Simons, insisted his wife, Josephine Panyin Simons, was pregnant.
According to him, there was no need for her to fake the pregnancy since they already have a child together.
He added that this was not desperation to have a child, so the minister should have done due diligence before running to the media to say his wife was not pregnant.
Community members cursing
Some neighbors and co-tenants of Josephine Panyin Mensah, the woman who reportedly went missing in Takoradi, have invoked curses on people disputing her pregnancy.
They disputed the police statement that she was never pregnant as they gathered onto the street in Takoradi Columbia to protest, accusing the police of spreading falsehood.
While registering their displeasure, others went as far as invoking curses on people disputing her pregnancy.
Police declaring lady as suspect
After the test proved she was not pregnant on two separate occasions, Josephine moved from being a victim to be becoming a suspect according to a police report.
Her ante-natal book was taken by kidnappers
A lady who claimed to be the sister of Josephine said she was heavily pregnant until she went missing last week.
She claimed that Josephine was kidnapped with her antenatal book, but did not return with it.
Mother and Husband arrested
The case of Josephine Panyin Mensah landed her family in trouble.
Josephine's husband, Michael Simmons, and her mother, Agnes Essel, were arrested as accomplices to fake her pregnancy and kidnapping.
Minister's aide said W/R minister paid GHc 3,000 to police to be given to kidnappers
The Special Aide to the Western Regional Minister, Justice Acquah, revealed that the minister paid GH¢3,000 to the kidnappers.
Acquah said though the kidnappers demanded GH¢500 and later GH¢1,000, the regional minister paid GH¢3,000.
According to Acquah, he personally handed over the money to the police to be sent to the kidnappers.
Ransom
He further revealed that while the woman, Josephine Panyin Mensah, claimed to have been kidnapped, the police tapped her phone and realised she occasionally switched the phone on and spoke to her mother and switched it back off.
Per a report filed by GraphicOnline, Police investigations also established that the SIM-card number that was used to call the mother to demand the ransom after the fake kidnap was reported to the police, was registered earlier this month in the name of Josephine Panyin Mensah.
The police are said to have traced the number to a location at Agona-Nkwanta, an adjoining Municipality, which sent the team of detectives to comb the entire area but Josephine had by then moved out and that it was not long before she reappeared in Axim in the Nzema East Municipality.
Woman confessed to not being pregnant and kidnapped
Josephine confessed to a team of Police psychologists and Health workers attending to her at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital that she was neither pregnant nor kidnapped.
She since asked for forgiveness from her husband, Michael Simons, amidst tears while asking not to be prosecuted
She has since been “whisked” to the Takoradi Central Police Station after her confession.
During her alleged confession, Josephine said she did that because she did not want to loose her marriage, and also she did not want her husband to stop giving her special treatment.
She further stated that she got a silicone belly to continue acting pregnant after she lost her real pregnancy in the fourth month.
Source: YEN.com.gh
