Funeral arrangements for the burial of late highlife musician, Daasebre Gyamena, is in limbo as a misunderstanding has ensued between his maternal family relations of one side and his paternal family on the other side.
Members from Daasebre’s mother’s family in Anomabo have placed a court injunction on the funeral arrangement because his father’s family in Koforidua has refused to release the body to be buried at Anomabo as their tradition demands.
Since his untimely demise at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Friday, July 29, 2016, there have been disputes between the Muslim community and his father’s family in Koforidua over who has the right to bury his remains.
After both parties(the Muslims community and his father’s family) agreed on a burial date set for October 14, members from Daasebre Gyamena’s mother’s family are demanding that his dead body must be moved from Koforidua to Anomabo where his mother hails from for him to be buried there instead of Koforidua.
Speaking on Peace FM‘s Entertainment Review, Nana Kwaku Appah from Daasebre Gyamena’s mother’s family confirmed that they have asked his father’s family in Koforidua to release the remains to them.
“Yes, it is true we are demanding the body of our royal son,” he added.
Nana admitted that they sent a delegation to Koforidua to be part of the meeting where the burial date was chosen, but according him, their delegation couldn’t articulate their position properly in the meeting.
“We agreed for the one week celebration to be held in Koforidua on condition that his father’s family would allow us to take the body to Anomabo after the one week but they have refused to allow us to take the body from Koforidua and our family tradition demands that if a member of the family dies no matter what or where the person dies, the person must be buried in Anomabo,” Nana Kwaku pointed out.
He disclosed that they went to Koforidua last Wednesday to transport the body to Anomabo, but Daasebre’s father’s family did not allow them, adding that both families agreed initially that Daasebre would be buried in Anomabo.
Nana Kwaku continued…”Daasebre is a royal from Anomabo so we would never allow him to be buried anywhere else apart from his mother’s hometown. So, if they don’t release the body to us, we will take it to court. The court is there to settle misunderstandings and issues like this so we have placed court injunction on the funeral for the court to decide who has the right to bury him and where he should be buried”
Asked if the injunction has been placed already or the family is yet to place it, Nana Kwaku said, “We have already placed injunction on it and they have been summoned to court to come and explain. We have finished all arrangement and our lawyers have served them so we are waiting to meet them at Koforidua High Court.”
He added that names on the court summons are Godfred Oti and Samuel Boakye from Daasebre’s father side and they are expected to appear in court on behalf of the family.
Meanwhile, Mr Oti who represents Daasebre’s father family disclosed on Peace FM that as at Saturday, August 27, 2016, they hadn’t received any court summons.
He, however, added that he is very disappointed in members of Daasebre’s mother’s family for blowing what is supposed to be a family issue out of proportion. According to him, Daasebre Gyamena’s mother died when he was just seven months old and the same family who are now fighting for his body abandoned him at that age and have no idea how he survived to become the music star he was before he died, but now that he is no more, they are fighting to bury him.
“If they have taken the issue to court, I have nothing to say about it. If the court decides and the court wants the body to be given to his mother’s family we will give the body to them to do whatever they want with it,” Mr Oti emphasized.
As it stands now, it is not too clear if Daasebre would be buried on the proposed October 14 date.
Eugene Osafo-Nkansah, Peacefmonline