Mahama Zongo Mortuaries Spark Debate

John Mahama

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), ex-President John Dramani Mahama, appears to have started another round of heated political debate following his manifesto promise of establishing mortuaries in Muslim-dominated communities popularly called Zongos in the country.

For those who found the promise unfeasible and morbid, they also think that Muslims are being confined to the spheres of morbidity away from life although, of course, the way of all flesh is death.

Not only Muslims have expressed some level of disgust at the former President’s recourse to deathly remarks in recent times but also others outside the Islamic faith.

A few weeks after his infamous ‘prophecy’ of President Akufo-Addo’s early death ‘in the natural order of things’, his promise to build mortuaries in the Zongo communities could not have gone without prompting attention.

Woezor Declaration

Definitely seeking to woo not only Zongo residents but also Muslims at large, Mr. Mahama read from his party’s manifesto the ‘Zongo mortuaries project’ during an interview on ‘Woezor TV’ in the Volta Region over the weekend.

“A lot of the members of the Muslim communities have not been happy. And so we shall facilitate the establishment of mortuaries in accordance with Islamic customs and practices and collaborate with the Ministry of Health to set up focal teams responsible for procedures that are compliant with Islamic culture and practices at all public mortuaries,” Mr. Mahama pointed.

Muslims, he said, are opposed to the delays they suffer when they are confronted with the task of collecting their dead relatives at public mortuaries.

In one instance, he referred to the creation of mortuaries within the Zongo communities and in another the deployment so-called focal teams to public mortuaries to ensure compliance with the Islamic customs and practices.

Social Media Fire

No sooner had he made the ‘mortuaries for Zongos’ promise than the subject went viral on social media.

For those who have followed his recent remarks on the campaign trail, they could not subdue their bewilderment over his newfound love for macabre-laced remarks.

Telling Zongo residents, most of whom are Muslims, their faith abhorring delayed burial of the dead, the vote-hungry flagbearer of the opposition NDC could have misfired his bait.

Some of the mordant remarks queried why he was not tackling underdevelopment in the Zongos and how his party intends to address these but rather morbid issues.

Some have written off the promise as one of the unfeasible pledges which cannot be implemented.

Okada Snide

Another remark on social media noted cynically that the former President wanted to ensure that fatalities from the Okada business he is promising to legalize are given speedy interment.

Medical and forensic standards in some instances demand that dead bodies are examined to isolate disease outbreaks or even foul play.

“How can you establish mortuaries in areas which are already congested and among persons whose faith favours immediate burial of the dead?” an anonymous Zongo resident asked.

Development Agenda

Mr. Mahama told his host on the television station that the ‘mortuaries for Zongos’ is part of the development agenda his party has for members of the Islamic communities.

The former President’s wooing proposal, weird as it sounds, came on the heels of the epoch-making creation of a Zongo Ministry and a Zongo Development Fund by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in fulfilment of a campaign promise.

Some have said the opposition NDC must be struggling to outdo President Akufo-Addo’s top-of-the-roof development agenda.

Setting Records

Following what looks like the negative impact of the mortuary promise, the Campaign Spokesperson of the former President, James Agyenim-Boateng, has quickly released a rejoinder to mitigate it.

For the record, he said that the former President was only explaining portions of their ‘People’s Manifesto’ on TV XYZ and Woezor TV regarding the NDC’s interventions for the Zongos and deprived urban settlements.

Reading from page 82 of the NDC’s 2020 Manifesto, Mr. Mahama mentioned a number of interventions aimed at addressing “the historical inequalities between Zongo, deprived urban settlements and other communities, including the negative effects of the Alien Compliance Order implemented by the Danquah-Busia tradition on Zongos.”

“Acknowledging the concerns of Muslims about how traditional mortuaries handle their beloved ones when they pass on, Mr. Mahama quoted the specific section of the People’s Manifesto which addresses the issue and aims at lessening the burden of bereaved Muslims by treating their deceased loves ones in line with accepted practices of the Islamic faith,” he added.

Mischief, Distortions

“For the avoidance of doubt, the said publication is mischievous, deliberately distorted and calculated to whip up anti-Muslim sentiments against the NDC and the JOHN MAHAMA 2020 Campaign,” the statement said, adding “Muslims, in particular, and the general public are therefore entreated to disregard that offensive publication by treating it with the contempt it deserves.”

By A.R. Gomda