T’adi ‘pregnant’ woman satisfies bail condition

Josephine Panyin Mensah, 28,   the ‘pregnant’woman, who claimed she was ‘kidnapped’ in Takoradi, has satisfied bail conditions set by the Takoradi Circuit Court A.

On September 27, the court presided over by Justice Michael Cudjoe Ampadu, granted Josephine Ghc 50, 000 bail with two sureties, one to be justified.

However, she could not fulfill the bail conditions and had remained in Takoradi Central Police cells.

Josephine is expected to reappear in court on Thursday, October 14, 2021, on charges of deceit of public officer and publication of false news intended to cause fear and panic.

Josephine, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was represented by five lawyers on ‘probono’ service, with Lawyer Fifi Buckman, as the lead counsel.

The defence counsels  prayed the court to grant accused bail and argued that Josephine’s detention was an affront to her rights.

Mr Buckman promised the court thatJosephine would be made available to face trail anytime.

Superintendent(Sup) Emmanuel Basintele, mentioned that, Josephineconfessed that she was not pregnant to medical personnel in the presence of her mother at the EffiaNkwanta RegionalHospital, where she was undergoing treatment.

He told court that Josephine did not make the confessions under any duress.

Sup Basintele said “She was also informed of her constitutional rights to have a counsel…We exerted whatever we wanted from her not under duress”.

Prosecution, who is also Head of Legal Affairs of the Police, told the court that investigations suggested that the number used by the supposed kidnappers were registered in the name of the accused, Josephine Panyin Mensah.

He disclosed that, Josephine visited the Takoradi Hospital on September 11, 2020, with complaints of lower abdominal pains which was treated, and that, subsequent visits showed no records of antenatal care.

After listening to the parties, Justice Micheal Cudjoe Ampadu, granted the bail to enable the accused to rest and recover from her trauma, adding that, her lawyers should help in the   proper preparation for October 14.

Josephine went missing on Sept.16, 2021, carrying “pregnancy” but was found after six days without the pregnancy which gained national attention.

On Thursday, September 16, Josephine, resident at Columbia, a suburb of Takoradi, failed to return home from her routine dawn walk, and, her husband, Michael Simmons, lodged a complaintto the police.

Later, Josephine’s mother, Agnes Essel, received calls from alleged kidnappers, who asked fora ransom before they could release her daughter, heightening fears inTakoradi.

Accused was, however, found at Tulano, a suburb of Axim, on Tuesday, September 21, but, without her pregnancy or ‘baby’.

On Friday, September 24, police investigations concluded that Josephine had faked both the pregnancy and kidnapping in order to “satisfy” her husband, after suffering a miscarriage four months into the ‘pregnancy.’

FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI