The Sh2.9m pregnancy trickery: How woman regularly took money from ‘desperate’ man

By , K24 Digital
On Tue, 23 Mar, 2021 17:43 | 4 mins read
Winnie Wairigia Maina
Ms Winnie Wairigia Maina in court for allegedly conning a Dutch farmer based in Kenya Sh2.9 million in surrogacy scam. PHOTO | NANCY GITONGA
Ms Winnie Wairigia Maina in court for allegedly conning a Dutch farmer based in Kenya Sh2.9 million in surrogacy scam. PHOTO | NANCY GITONGA

A Dutch national broke into tears in a Nairobi court while narrating how he was duped into giving out Sh2.9 million by a Kenyan woman who claimed she would help him get a baby through a surrogate mother.

Mr. Dion William Van Aardt, a farmer based in Nanyuki was testifying in a case where Winnie Warigia Maina, who is a director of the Family Fertility and Surrogacy Agency, has been charged with obtaining Sh2.92 million from him.

On Tuesday, March 23, an emotional Aardt told the court that he was excited that in April 2019 he would finally have his own child, through surrogacy, but his sweet dream turned out to be a scam.

Online agency

Mr. Aardt, while giving his evidence in chief led by prosecutor Mr. Kennedy Panyako, informed the court that he came into contact with Ms. Maina's online agency in 2017 following a search in various websites.

The court heard that Mr. Aardt contacted the agency through an email and Whatsapp number and he was assured that the firm would help him get a surrogate mother to bear his child.

"When I went through the agency website, l sent Winnie an email and Whatsapp [message] and asked her if she could help him father a child through a surrogate. Warigia agreed to help me and asked to meet me in person," Mr. Aardt said.

Semen analysis

The Dutch national said that he met with Ms. Maina at the Java restaurant in Aga Khan University Hospital where he was introduced to a doctor identified as Patel.

Later, Aardt said he met the accused, her lawyer, and her sister and they signed two contracts, the first between him and the agency and the second between him and a surrogate to be contacted by the agency.

He signed the contract on January 17, with Euphriasraz Tsikhuzu, who signed on behalf of the agency, Pamela Wanjiku Wanjiru who signed as the surrogate.

The court heard that Dr. Patel advised Mr. Aardt to have a semen analysis (seminogram) to evaluate his fertility. A seminogram evaluates certain characteristics of a male's semen and the sperm contained therein.

On January 25, Mr. Aardt said he received a call from Ms. Maina informing him that the results of his semen analysis showed "they were not perfect" but she promised him that Dr. Patel would help father a child.

Mr. Aardt said that he gave out his sperm at Aga Khan Universty Hospital, then Ms Maina, through her agency, was to provide an egg donor and a surrogate mother to carry the pregnancy through IVF after his sperms had fertilized the oocytes to form an embryo.

'So thoughtful'

After a while, Mr. Aardt told the court that Ms. Maina informed him that the surrogate had conceived.

She advised him to name the baby as a way to bond with the child before birth.

Mr. Aardt told the court that he named the girl Ottaline Mary Josephine and even went for several scans with the alleged surrogate, Wanjiru.

The Dutchman said the accused even gave him a blanket emblazoned with the child's name, an act he said was "so thoughtful" had it not be a tall tale.

In court, Mr. Aardt sobbed as he remembered the beautiful name he gave his unborn child. He had named her after his mother.

His mother and other family members, who were also in court following the proceedings, broke down in tears as he narrated his ordeal.

Baby shower held

The court heard that just before the due date on April 14, 2019, Mr. Aardt, his family members and his friends held a baby shower in anticipation of the baby girl's birth.

According to the witnesses, it was Ms. Maina who suggested that they hold a baby shower.

Mr. Aardt said that he did all the shopping needed for a newborn prior to the due date and was even looking for house-helps to him raise the child.

However, the due date, April 14, 2019, passed with no communication from Ms. Maina.

Panicked, he contacted Ms. Maina who informed him that the surrogate had not yet gone into labour.

The bad fake news

The court heard that a week later after a lot of follow up with Ms. Maina, she told him the surrogate was in the hospital and the baby was in breach.

He was told that the surrogate had refused to undergo a caesarian section as advised by doctors.

Anxious, Mr. Aardt told the court that he packed his bags ready to travel to Nairobi in preparation for the delivery of his child.

However, as he was preparing to leave the house, Ms. Maina called him and informed him that both the surrogate and the baby were dead.

Ms. Maina told him that she needed money to take them to a befitting mortuary and later informed him the bodies were moved to Umash mortuary.

When he insisted on seeing them, the accused person started giving flimsy excuses each time he asked to meet the surrogate.

Frustrated and in anguish, Mr. Aardt said he contacted Umash morgue who told him there were no bodies of a pregnant woman or a child at their facility on that alleged day.

He then contacted Aga Khan University Hospital to inquire, and to his shock, he was informed that his semen was still intact as no woman was ever brought for the IVF procedure. He was told there was no way the alleged 'child' was his.

It was then that Mr. Aardt reported the incident to the police which led to Ms. Maina's arrest.