By: Desmond Cudjoe
The Takoradi Circuit Court ‘A’ presided over by Michael Ampadu has convicted the fake Takoradi pregnant woman who also faked her kidnap, Josephine Panyin Mensah to a fine of GH₵ 7,200 Ghana Cedis.
She was fined for publication of false news with the intent to cause fear and panic per Section 208 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act.
She was however acquitted of the charge of deceiving the Court and directed that the fine be paid in 14 days.
At the last sitting, the Court set Tuesday, November 15, 2022, to deliver the judgment.
The Court asked the accused person to go for a pregnancy test and submit the result to it.
The Court presided over by Michael Ampadu had to defer its final ruling in the case to Thursday, November 17, 2022 because the judgment was not ready. When she first appeared in Court, Josephine Panyin Mensah pleaded not guilty to the charges of deceiving a Public Officer and publication of false news with intent to cause fear and panic.
This was despite the claims by the Police that she had confessed to faking the kidnapping and the pregnancy.
Josephine Panyin Mensah in September of 2021 was allegedly kidnapped while having her normal early morning jogging in Takoradi, in the Western Region. She was later found in Axim without any sign of the said pregnancy. She later claimed that she delivered on the same day she was allegedly kidnapped with the baby taken by her supposed kidnappers.
Further tests conducted on her at different health facilities also confirmed that she was never pregnant.
When she took her turn to testify in the case during cross-examination, Josephine insisted that she was pregnant before she was kidnapped and that she got pregnant in January 2021.
The case got viral, generating a lot of sympathy on social media.
