Josephine Panyin Mensah
Josephine Panyin Mensah, the supposed heavily pregnant woman who claimed she was kidnapped and her fresh baby taken away, but later found to be untrue, is still in police custody after she failed to meet her bail conditions.
The 27-year-old woman appeared before the Takoradi Circuit Court ‘A’ and was charged with publication of false news and deceit of a public officer. The court later granted her bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 with two sureties, one to be justified.
However, Philip Fiifi Buckman, lead counsel of the accused, said the woman could not meet the bail conditions set by the court on Monday, and was still in custody.
“I am however confident that she will be able to meet the bail conditions today (Tuesday),” he added.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Emmanuel Arko, a family member, also confirmed that the family had not been able to meet the bail conditions and so accused was still in police custody.
Josephine Panyin Mensah pleaded not guilty to two charges of deceiving a public officer and publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public when she appeared before the court.
Facts of Case
According to the prosecutor, Supt Emmanuel Basintale, the accused resides at Old John Sabbah Road in Takoradi, and on September 16, 2021, at about 4.05pm, Michael Simons of Columbia, Takoradi, who is the husband of the accused, informed the police that his wife who was 10 months pregnant and lived with her mother, Agnes Essel aka Auntie Aggie, left home for a health walk but could not return.
Ransom Call
The prosecutor said the mother of the accused also added that same day at about 3:30pm, an unknown caller called her on MTN number 0599601438 and she only heard the voice of accused crying that she had been kidnapped and taken to an unknown location.
In the course of investigations, the police discovered that the said number called from Agona Nkwanta in the Ahanta West District and was registered in the accused person’s own name. Police trailed the number there but did not find the accused.
The prosecutor continued that on September 21, 2021, at about 11:15am, while a massive search was in progress, police had Intel which indicated that accused had been found at Axim, the Nzema East Municipality of the region.
The police in Axim was informed and the accused was conveyed from the premises of the Jehovah Witnesses Kingdom Hall to Axim Government Hospital for treatment.
Accused Speaks
The prosecutor told the court that the accused later narrated that she was pregnant and kidnapped during a walk on September 16, 2021, at about 4:30am, by unknown people who covered her mouth with cloth, making her unconscious.
She added that she met about 12 other unknown women kidnapped by her captors and they were all killed except her, and that she gave birth to a baby girl and afterwards falling unconscious for the second time and had no idea how she got to Axim.
Doctor’s Examination
The prosecutor said doctors who conducted examination on the accused at the Axim Government Hospital told police that they did not notice any postpartum sign. The doctors stated that the accused had not given birth within six days that she went missing and resurfaced.
The doctors added that no mark of violence was also noticed on the accused.
On September 21, 2021, the accused was discharged from the Axim hospital after she was attended to by Clinical Psychologists.
The police then took the accused person to Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi where she was again examined by doctors who also concluded that accused did not give birth to any baby within the six days that she went missing and resurfaced.
The doctors added that no mark of violence was detected on the accused.
Records at the Takoradi Hospital, also called European Hospital, where the accused claimed she attended antenatal care, revealed that on September 11, 2020, she attended gynaecological clinic with complaints of lower abdominal pain and had pelvic ultra sound which showed that she had pelvic inflammatory disorder and not pregnancy.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi