• She has been charged with deceiving a public officer and publication of false news with the intent to cause fear and panic.
• She is reported to have appeared calm during proceedings today
Josephine Panyin Mensah, the woman at the center of the fake kidnapping and pregnancy scandal, has been granted bail by the Takoradi Habour Circuit Court.
Appearing in court for the first time, following her confession to faking a nine-month pregnancy and a kidnapping that gained the entire nation’s interest, the 28-year-old was admitted to a bail of GHC50,000 with sureties.
Charged with deceiving a public officer and publication of false news with intent to cause fear and panic, Josephine Mensah pleaded not guilty when she appeared in court.
Her plea, however, goes contrary to police report that she confessed to faking her kidnapping and pregnancy.
According to a Citi News report sighted by GhanaWeb, the suspect was brought to the court premises in the early hours of Monday at about 6:00 am and appeared calm.
Her case has been adjourned to October 14, 2021.
Background of Josephine Mensah’s alleged kidnapping
Josephine was reported to the police as missing on September 16, with later reports indicating that some alleged kidnappers got in touch with her family to demand a ransom for her return.
She was found by a carpenter in Axim on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, and was said to be unable to speak from trauma.
She is reported to have requested for a pen and a paper through which she communicated her ordeal to the people who found her.
According to a carpenter, who found her, a traumatized Josephine informed him through writing that she went into forced labour when the kidnappers grabbed her. He further stated that the baby died and was taken away from her.
Her family and security officers were later contacted and she was sent to a health facility at Axim for medical attention.
She is reported to have confessed during a police interrogation that she faked her pregnancy and kidnapping.
Further tests conducted by the police also proved that she was never pregnant.
Following her revelations, Josephine Mensah was detained at the Takoradi Regional Police Station as a suspect.
Josephine Panyin Mensah has been granted a GHC50,000 bail