Dead bodies exhumed and burnt in Pru District

Yeji (B/A), Feb 26, GNA - Some people are reported to be exhuming bodies from cemeteries at Adaa and Batour, farming communities in Pru District, and burning them.

Mr. Vasco Samuel Nyamekye, the Atebubu District Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, told the Ghana News Agency that the commission had received a petition from a farmer at Yeji, complaining about the practise.

Mr Nyamekye said the exhumation and burning of the fresh bodies could lead to an outbreak of epidemic.

Mr Nyamekye said the burning always attracted large numbers of people and that in a most recent incident, the body of a middle-aged man was exhumed and burnt and this drew a lot of wailing from the bereaved family.

Mr. Nyamekye said the two communities claimed they had sought permission from the traditional authorities of the area. They are the Omanhene of Yeji, Nana Yaw Kabrese, Nana Boakye Yiadom, Omanhene of Komkom, Nana Twumasi Ankrah, chief of Cherepo and the chiefs of Adaa and Batour.

Mr. Nyamekye said he had appealed to the traditional authorities to submit their comments on the alleged practice within one week as it was against the rights of persons as mandated by the constitution. Nana Boakye Yiadom has confirmed the practice and appealed to the commission to embark on an education drive to educate the people about the dangers and the illegality of exhuming the dead bodies.