Ghana is considered to be one of the most secure countries but the number of kidnappings has risen sharply in recent months, causing a wave of anxiety in the country.
In an attempt to allay people's fears, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo emphasised the government's determination to put an end to the kidnappers' activities.
Describing kidnapping as a new phenomenon in Ghana, he said: "We need to do something about it to make sure this does not become a feature of our society. Decisions are being taken that will clearly manifest the determination I have to deal with this matter."
Many Ghanaians feel the time for taking action is long overdue. In connection with the cases recorded in 2018 only one person has been convicted and jailed, while another four are currently on trial.
2021 has not been different from other years where the country recorded kidnappings but some were reported to be fake.
As the year ends, Pulse.com.gh lists 5 kidnapping stories that made headlines, some of them were fake.
- Takoradi woman jailed 6 years for fake kidnapping
The 29-year-old woman, Joana Krah, who faked a kidnapping incident last week in Takoradi in the Western Region has been jailed for six years.
She was sentenced by the Takoradi Harbour Circuit Court A on two counts of deceiving a public officer and publication of false news on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
She faked her abduction in a bid to extort ¢5,000 from a relative.
According to the police, Joana Krah conspired with two others to orchestrate the act after which a call was placed to her godfather demanding the ransom.
- I conspired with my mother to fake my pregnancy - Takoradi woman confesses
Josephine Panyin Mensah, the 29-year-old woman at the centre of the Takoradi pregnancy and kidnapping saga has narrated her side of the story of why she deceived Ghanaians.
She revealed that she conspired with her mother to fake her pregnancy since she was afraid of losing her husband after she had a miscarriage while four-month pregnant.
According to her, she also faked her kidnapping to cover up the alleged loss of the baby.
The woman who is currently under investigation said she always covered up her fake belly anytime she was with her husband.
She also confessed that she was not pregnant.
- KNUST lecturer and husband of Rhodaline charged for being behind kidnap
Dr. Wilberforce Aggrey, husband of Rhodaline Amoah-Darko, the missing staff of the Lands Commission in Kumasi has been charged for her disappearance.
The police accused him of being behind the disappearance of his wife at an Asokwa District Court.
According to the police, their investigations have so far revealed a linkage of mobile phone communications to implicate the husband, who is a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.
Rhodaline Amoah-Darko was reported missing after she allegedly left home at Gyenyase in Kumasi on August 30, 2021, and did not return.
After Rhodaline allegedly went missing, the husband reported the incident to the police on September 2, 2021.
- 2 persons arrested over alleged kidnapping at Abeka Lapaz
Two persons have been arrested by the police for the alleged kidnapping at Abeka Lapaz in Accra.
The two, Abdula Saeed and Kudjo Akorlor were arrested in their hideout.
This was after a sister of the victim (name withheld) reported the incident to the police.
According to the police, the suspects had allegedly demanded GHS1,000 from the victim’s sister through mobile money transfer and still demanded more money after their transfer had been made.
After the suspects' second demand for money, the victim’s sister called the police who managed to arrest the suspects from their hideout and rescued the victim.
- 38-year-old man in court for allegedly kidnapping his own children
A 38-year-old driver, accused of kidnapping his two kids has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.
The suspect Prince Osei is said to have picked the kids after they closed from school on March 23, 2021, and failed to tell the police, the whereabouts of the two children.
The suspects promised to produce the victims on April 9, 2021.
Osei is being held on two counts of kidnapping his kids aged 11 and 7, and two counts of engaging in domestic violence to wit – conduct or behaviour that endangers the safety and well-being of another person.
He pleaded not guilty to the offence.