The 28-year-old woman who was allegedly kidnapped in Takoradi, Josephine Panyin Mensah (Josephine Simons), has confessed that she was not pregnant, the Ghana Police Service announced in a terse statement on Friday 24 September 2021.
In a Facebook post, the police said: “The suspect, Josephine Panyin Mensah, 28, has confessed to the police during further investigations and stated that neither was she pregnant nor ever being [sic] kidnapped.
“The public will be updated with further details.”
Arrests
Meanwhile, police in Takoradi in the Western Region have arrested three individuals for further questioning on possible conspiracy charges in connection with the case.
In a statement issued on Thursday (23 September), the police said Josephine Simons is now a suspect in the case.
“The victim, now a suspect, during interrogation mentioned the European Hospital in Takoradi as the hospital for her antenatal reviews and assessment. Medical records at the facility suggest that the lady visited the hospital without pregnancy somewhere in October last year,” the statement said.
“Investigations also suggest the suspect may have conspired with other persons over her possible planned disappearance,” it said.
“Never pregnant”
Speaking on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (22 September), Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, said a preliminary investigation by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) has shown that the kidnapping was fake and so was the pregnancy.
“… The information that he [the doctor] gave to our police was that the girl doesn’t seem to be someone who was pregnant in the first place, and all the signs and symptoms don’t show someone who has given birth in the last six days.
“I have directed the police to do further investigations on the girl’s mother, the girl herself and the husband. So that’s currently what we are doing.”
“Not fair”
However, Michael Simons denied claims that his wife, Josephine, was not pregnant when she was allegedly kidnapped last Thursday (16 September) in Takoradi.
Speaking with Asaase News on Wednesday (22 September), the husband of the suspect insisted she was pregnant when she went missing.
“I’m a bit confused about what the Regional Minister is saying because we those living with the lady know that she was pregnant. Even yesterday I overheard the doctor telling someone that this is a miracle … so if there is even a report that suggests that she is not pregnant, I think it was not fair for him to have spoken on the radio at this stage …”
However, the police have confirmed the assertion by the Regional Minister.
“The police [are] heavily relying on medical experts who have examined her. Their finding is that Josephine Panyin Mensah was never pregnant within the period under review following thorough medical examination by the medical doctors at the Axim Government Hospital,” the statement from the Ghana Police Service says.
Read the full statement below:
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