•He has called for patience to allow the police conclude investigations into the matter
•Pratt says the hardship in the economy could be a contributing factor to the rising fake kidnapping stories
Kwesi Pratt, the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper has suggested that the 'fake pregnancy' narrative emerging about the 28-year-old woman who was arrested in Takoradi might not be the only untruth about the incident.
Pratt says that having studied various pictures of the woman in question, he is convinced there could be other things which differ from what has been said so far.
On Peace FM, Kwesi Pratt who would not be drawn into the specifics of his observations urged for patience among the populace as police to continue to investigate the issue.
“I have watched the photos of the woman. From the look of things, there could be other things which are also not true, not just the pregnancy. Look at the photo, some of the things she is saying might not be true. I keep asking myself if the pregnancy is the only falsehood being peddled,” he said.
Kwesi Pratt also noted that the Western Region is fast gaining reputation for kidnapping stories which later turn out to be fake.
Pratt who would not want to provide justification for such fake kidnapping stories, noted that the rise could be due to the rising economic issues.
Kwesi Pratt believes that the Takoradi issue presents the country an opportunity to have a conversation about the rising kidnapping issues.
“When you look at what the police is saying, these fake kidnapping cases are becoming common in the Western Region. It’s becoming a fashion in the Western Region. Occasionally you hear such stories and then when investigated you hear stories of it being fake.
‘People just plan these kidnapping stories just to extort money. Its not as if something is wrong with them, they just want to extort money. When you send the money, the kidnappers and the victim share the money and go their separate ways. We should look at it carefully. It’s a crime that must be looked at. There are also genuine kidnapping cases.
“Recently, we’ve heard stories from the Western Region and Kumasi about fake kidnapping stories. People are taking advantage of that to do fake kidnaping. I’m not saying because of hardship in the country we should encourage such things but it is a contributing factor. We should look at the issue holistically and make sure we deal with it well,” he said.
Background of Josephine Mensah’s alleged kidnapping
Josephine was reported to the police as missing on the 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 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.
Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper