In an interesting twist to a case involving a 53-year-old Goldsmith with a physical disability suing his baby mama for allegedly selling their then one-month-old baby for Gh¢5,000, the baby mama, Patience Efe Mawutor has now sued the complainant, Mr. Tetteh Zoda.
At the Child-Friendly and Gender-Based Violence Court at the Police Headquarters in Accra, Patience Mawutor is seeking four reliefs, which include an order of the court to grant her legal custody of the child with reasonable access to the respondent, an order to compel the respondent to pay a maintenance fee of Gh¢1,000 per month for the upkeep of the child, payment of the child’s school fees as and when they are due, and an order of the court to compel the respondent to rent a decent accommodation for her and the child.
While Mr. Zoda in his suit claimed that he was in a love relationship with Patience Mawutor who later got pregnant for him, Patience, in her countersuit claims that she was lured by Mr. Zoda’s sister-in-law, one Victoria Tetteh, to sleep with Mr. Zoda without her consent.
She also claims that Mr. Tetteh Zoda kept her in his custody for three months and her family had to put pressure on Victoria (a food vendor she was working with) to bring her home.
Against Mr. Zoda’s assertion that Pat’s father rejected his proposal to marry his daughter with the reason that he would not allow a disabled man into his family, and subsequently fined him Gh¢1,500 for impregnating his daughter out of wedlock, out of which he paid Gh¢1,000; Patience Mawutor claims in her suit that when she later realised that she was pregnant, her family ordered Mr. Zoda to pay an amount of Gh¢12,000 for impregnating her but he paid only Ghc¢1,000 after which she did not see him again.
Again, Mr. Zoda said that after some months, he was not able to reach Efe over the phone because her phone was constantly off until August 15, 2022, when she told him over the phone that she had a stillborn at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on August 10, 2022, and the child was buried by the nurses. But Patience Efe Mawutor also claims now that when Mr. Zoda called to ask the whereabouts of the child, she told him to go and see her father.
The suit further says “Zoda went to the Police station and reported that he could not find his wife and baby and the Police came to arrest her and sent her to the Adenta Police station for investigations.
The applicant further says that the Police at Adenta referred the case to the Ministries Police and the case was sent to the circuit court at the Police Headquarters, Accra (DOVVSU) for its determination.
The applicant avers that at the Police station, they took her one-month-old baby from her and was given to the Ministries Social Welfare and she was prevented from seeing the child to date.
That applicant now wants to take custody of the child”.
On September 18, 2022, DisabilityNewsGH under the headline “Queen Mother, Pastor In Court For Trafficking Disabled Man’s Baby”, reported that Mr. Zoda sued his baby mama Patience Efe Mawutor and her father, Pastor Henry Mawutor for allegedly selling his one-month-old baby girl to a businesswoman, Jane Gerbs, who sent her to a Queen Mother, Nana Abena Nyarkoa II who operates an orphanage to take care of.
The report indicated that the four were standing trial for abetment of crime, human trafficking, exposing a child to danger and deceit of public officers.
The report said “The prosecuting officer, Inspector Opoku Aniagyei told the court on Friday, September 16, 2022, that, ‘The complainant, 53-year-old Tetteh Zodah is a Goldsmith and lives at Agormanya in the Eastern region. The first accused person, Patience Mawutor, 29 is unemployed and lives at Dodowa-Bawaleshie and is a girlfriend of the complainant.’
‘The second accused person, Jane Gerbs, 53, is a Chief Executive Officer of Pativers Pharmacy and lives at Bortianor. The third accused person, Nana Abena Nyarkoa II, 38 years old, is also a Chief Executive Officer of an NGO by the name Forever True Friends Foundation, situated at Abokobi’.
‘The fourth accused person, Henry Mawutor, 59 years old, is a Pastor who lives at Agbogba and a father to the first accused person’.
According to Inspector Opoku Aniagyei, in December 2021, during a visit to Tetteh Zodah, Patience got sick and visited the Atua government Hospital, where she tested positive when a pregnancy test was conducted on her.
He added that, since then, Mr. Zodah took all the financial responsibilities of Patience and the unborn baby.
The prosecutor further told the court that Mr. Zodah and his family went to inform Patience Mawutor’s family of his intention to marry his girlfriend after delivery but Pastor Henry rejected the proposal for the reason that Mr. Zodah was disabled.
He continued that on August 10, 2022, Patience was delivered of a baby girl at the Abokobi Government Hospital but she did not inform Mr. Zodah about it. And in the morning of August 16, 2022, Mr. Zodah called her on her cell phone to check up on her but she did not tell him that she put to bed until later that day when she called to inform him that she had given birth at the Ridge Hospital in Accra but the baby died and was buried by the Hospital Authorities.
Inspector Opoku said, ‘The complainant made a follow-up to the said Hospital and was told by the authorities that they had no record of the first accused person. Given that, the complainant reported the matter to the Dodowa DOVVSU and during investigations, the first accused person confessed to the Police that she gave birth at the Abokobi Government Hospital but not Ridge as earlier stated’.
‘The case was transferred to Adenta DOVVSU and during investigations, it came to light that the fourth accused person (Pastor Henry Mawutor) is a friend to the second accused person (Jane Gerbs)’.
He also reported that during one of their meetings, Pastor Henry confided in Jane Gerbs about Patience’s intention to abort the pregnancy. Later, Jane Gerbs convinced Patience not to abort the pregnancy but rather keep it and sell the baby to her after she put to bed.
‘After delivery, she sold the baby to the second accused person for an amount of Gh¢5,000. The second accused person after receiving the baby took her to the third accused person (Nana Abana Nyarkoa II) to take care of her’, the prosecutor added.
According to Inspector Opoku, the baby was later rescued and handed over to the Social Welfare Department.
All the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail to the tune of GH¢50,000 with two sureties each”.
After the first hearing on September 16, 2022, the case has been adjourned four times already as the police say they are conducting further investigation.
Meanwhile, Patience Mawutor’s countersuit is scheduled to be heard on January 16, 2023.
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com
Why not a physically challenged man
Or
A PWD MAN
Remember he impregnated an able woman which some able men cannot do.
Disabled man but got someone pregnant
Thank you.