A MOTHER’S 12-YEAR NIGHTMARE: STOLEN SONS

THE BEGINNING

I came to the UK with hope — a Romanian woman seeking a better life. I never imagined I would lose nearly everything, including my own children, to men who abused me, lied about me, and used the system against me.

I was never married to any of the fathers of my sons. There was no happy home, no loving commitment. There was only stalking, pressure, violence, and betrayal. They took advantage of me when I was vulnerable, alone, and struggling — and then they took my children.

JOSEPH — TAKEN BY LIES

My first son, Joseph Emmanuel, was born in April 2010. His father, Bernard Boakye, and his family turned my own son against me before he was old enough to understand. They told lies to social workers and the court — claiming I was “unstable, mentally unwell, and unpredictable.”

Why? Because at that time I was homeless, grieving, and traumatised. I had no home, no money, and I was already searching day and night for my second son who would soon be stolen from me. I struggled with hearing loss and language barriers — so instead of listening to me, they listened to his loud, united family. They judged me by my suffering instead of my love.

A court order was made granting me the right to see Joseph. They broke it every single time. They blocked my calls, hid my letters, kept my gifts, and told Joseph I had abandoned him. They stopped him from knowing his Romanian heritage, his roots, and his own brothers.

An official children’s report in 2019 said clearly: “Joseph needs his mother. He needs to know she did not abandon him. He needs to know his Romanian identity.” None of it was ever done. They simply ignored the judge and kept me away.

MATTHEW — ABDUCTED AS A BABY

My second son, Matthew Isaiah, was born in March 2014. His father’s name does not appear anywhere on his birth certificate — it says UNKNOWN. Yet this man, Raoul Herbin Ngapa, took him from me when he was just a few months old — without consent, without a court order, without any right at all.

This man was a Cameroonian national whose asylum claim had been refused. He faced deportation from the UK. So he did the unthinkable: he used my baby as a human shield. He took Matthew so the authorities could not send him away.

Before he stole my son, he stalked me, beat me, forced me to have an abortion, and stole my passport and documents. When I refused, he took Matthew and vanished. He moved him from place to place, hiding him, erasing my name from every record, telling people I was dead.

I did not give up. I travelled to Cameroon alone. I walked the streets, put up posters, filed police reports, spoke to locals — searching for my baby. I begged authorities in three countries to help me. All I got was silence.

THE YEARS OF TEARS

For over 12 years, I have lived a nightmare no mother should ever know:

- I have missed every birthday, every first step, every holiday, every milestone

- I have slept on the streets, walked through the night, cried myself sick searching for them

- I have been scammed out of over £7,000 by people pretending to be police and social workers who promised to bring my boys home

- I have suffered depression, anxiety, and physical illness from the endless grief

- I have watched my youngest son Daniel grow up — safe with me, loved, cared for — while his brothers were stolen from him

- I have bought clothes, toys, and gifts for my missing sons every single year — waiting for the day I can hand them over

WHY NO ONE LISTENED TO ME

I was pushed aside because:

- They had big families and loud voices — I had only my broken heart and the truth

- They spoke perfect English — I struggled with hearing loss and language

- They had a roof and stability — I was homeless and grieving

- They lied together — I told the truth alone

The authorities took the easy path. They believed the comfortable, settled families instead of the suffering, homeless mother. They called me “unfit” because I was poor and traumatised — not because I was ever a bad mother.

PROOF I AM A GOOD MOTHER

My youngest son Daniel is my proof. He was born in May 2017. He has lived with me every single day of his life. He is happy, healthy, loved, and safe. I have a stable home now, settled status, and I care for him alone. If I were truly “unstable” or “unfit,” would Daniel be thriving?

I am the same mother to Joseph and Matthew. I have the same love, the same devotion, the same heart. I was never given the chance to be their mother — they took that away from me.

WHAT I WANT

I do not want money. I do not want revenge. I only want what is mine by right and by love:

✅ Joseph — returned to his mother, or at least allowed to know me, to speak to me, to learn the truth

✅ Matthew — found, rescued, and brought safely home to the only mother he ever had

✅ The lies erased — so my sons know I never abandoned them. I was kept away. I fought for them every day

✅ Justice — so no other mother is silenced, ignored, and robbed of her children the way I was

MY MESSAGE TO MY SONS

“Joseph, Matthew — if you ever read this: I am alive. I never forgot you. I never stopped searching. I never stopped loving you. They told you lies about me. But I am here. I am waiting. I have kept your rooms ready, your gifts bought, your names in my heart. One day, I pray you will come home. Your mother loves you more than words can say.”