The revelations that have emerged following the resurfacing of Josephine Panyin Mensah Simons, the said pregnant woman who was allegedly kidnapped in Takoradi, has sparked controversy nationwide.
When she was found in Axim, several miles away from Takoradi where she disappeared, she was mute, unkempt and without any sign of the said pregnancy.
Josephine, who has now been officially arrested and detained, told the police and medical officials that she delivered on the same day she was allegedly kidnapped and the baby taken away by the kidnappers.
But two separate medical examinations disputed her claims, revealing that she was never pregnant and does not show signs of having given birth.
After she was confronted with the reality and the implications of her actions, Josephine confessed to a team of medical and investigation officers at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital that her pregnancy and kidnapping story was a hoax.
But why would a sane woman deceive security officers and the entire country with such a serious issue like kidnap?
Here’s the breakdown
According to a MyNewsGh.com report, Josephine was indeed at one pregnant for her husband but lost the baby 4 months into the pregnancy due to miscarriage.
She reportedly told investigators that before the miscarriage her husband Michael Simons was always at his happiest and treated her so well.
However, she felt that losing the pregnancy could be the end of the good treatment from her husband and hence came up with a plan, with the assistance of her mother, to keep deceiving her husband until the 9th month when she was due.
Without any means of reproducing a baby after 9 months, she faked her kidnapping to create the impression her kidnappers were ritualists who took away her new baby.
But her innocent, loving and caring husband, who did not know her pregnancy ended in the fourth month, went to the police to lodge a formal complaint that led to the frantic search of her whereabouts.
Josephine reportedly confessed to the investigating team that the main reason for her actions was because she found it difficult to inform the husband about her miscarriage and subsequently bought a silicone belly to seem the pregnancy was intact.
The mother, Agnes Essel, who was detained in police cells on Thursday and released on Friday evening, was aware of the plan the whole time.
Josephine has since asked for forgiveness from her husband Michael Simons who appears to be innocent and in a state of shock.
