The late Chief Inspector Christian Addy Amankrah
Drama unfolded at Assorko Essaman, a farming community in the Shama District of the Western Region, last Saturday when the mortal remains of a deceased police officer were allegedly exhumed and re-buried later at a public cemetery at Apemanim, a nearby town.
The deceased, Chief Inspector Christian Addy Amankrah, 59, of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) in Sekondi, passed away some few months ago after a reported stroke.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that the bereaved family members, in a subtle way to prevent the widow, Nana Adwoa Edumaba II, from viewing the body of her husband at the funeral ground, decided to hurriedly bury him before the arrival of the widow and some colleague policemen and women.
Some of the residents indicated that it was an unfortunate scene to behold as the mortal remains of the police officer were virtually reduced to an object of ridicule, thereby dismaying the mourners.
The family members allegedly claimed that the widow, queen mother of Ekumfi Nanaben, did not take good care of their relative when he was alive, among many other accusations.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that the family laid the body in state at Assorko Essaman on Saturday but quickly carried it to the cemetery at about 7:30 am.
Confirming the story in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, Nana Edumaba II described the assertion by her late husband’s family as false.
She therefore could not fathom why the bereaved family wanted to prevent her from paying her last respect to her husband adding, “Some of the family members threatened to kill me if I stepped foot on the funeral ground. They did not even include my name as the widow in the obituary.”
She suspected that the action by the family was aimed at taking over a property the Chief Inspector put up in the community with her during the period of 33 years that they lived as a couple.
She told DAILY GUIDE that personnel of the Police Service in Sekondi had earlier told her that they would escort her to the funeral ground to see the body of her departed husband, upon hearing that the family had warned her not to be there.
“They brought the coffin back to the funeral ground for their necessary rites before the reburial around 12 noon,” Nana Edumaba added.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi