Apam (C/R), June 15, GNA – A coffin provided by a husband for the burial of his wife, has been abandoned in the street of Apam for five days.
This was after the wife had been laid in state in the coffin for about 18 hours and the necessary rites had been performed for the corpse to be conveyed to the cemetery for burial.
The trouble started when the relatives of Adjoa Quayson, 34 protested against the capture of the funeral rites on video by relatives of the deceased’s husband.
This was in apparent reference to the inability of the widower who is a seaman in Greece to attend the funeral.
Mr Robert Akoto, a Linguist for Anona Clan where the widower; Mr Kobina Essandoh, comes from, told the Ghana News Agency at Apam that Ms Quayson, died from complications after delivery.
He said after the sad event, the sister of Mr Essandoh allegedly locked up the room of Ms Quayson and this infuriated her relatives who among other grievances decided to prevent the video coverage.
Relatives of Mr Essandoh who felt slighted demanded the return of chairs, canopies and coffin they provided for the funeral and carried the items away whilst the ceremony was in progress.
Spokesman of the Asona Clan where the deceased belonged to told the GNA that they obliged to the demands of Mr Essandoh’s family and hurriedly provided a new coffin and removed the corpse into it and returned the used one.
Mr Essandoh’s family however refused to accept the coffin and abandoned it on the street.
Residents along the street where the coffin was abandoned reported the case to the relevant authorities, prompting officials from the Gomoa District Environmental Health Office to carry it away.
In a related event Ms Quayson’s family compelled Mr Essandoh’s family to perform marriage rights for the deceased, since her husband was not legally married to her although they had two children.
They obliged and provided four half pieces of cloth, suitcase, panties and other necessary items in line with custom.
Source: GhanaWeb
