New Twist in Dzirasah Body Exhumation Case

Pieces of information gathered by Chronicle reveal that a docket forwarded by the Sogakope police to the attorney-general implicating Mr. Paul Dzirasah, father of Hon. Ken Dzirasah, second deputy speaker of Parliament, in the exhuming and cremation of his sister, Dora Dzirasah, was mysteriously smuggled out to an individual in the township.

As a result, descendants of the deceased have contended that the justice they are looking for has been denied or delayed.

According to Mrs. Mawusi Nudekor Anity, the eldest granddaughter, she believes that the smuggling out of the docket was influenced by the elements involved in the exhumation.

"I am surprised at the way the docket has been given to an individual who I do not know and who has not consulted us to know whether we are prepared to solve the case amicably at home. In the first place, if we are to solve it amicably, we would not have sent it to the court."

Mrs. Anity added that the smuggling of the docket was the manifestation of what the second deputy speaker said that the justice they were seeking would not reach anywhere, and that they even threatened from the beginning when they started pursuing the case.

According to her, earlier on, Ken Dzirasah wrote to Mr. Thomas Agbo and Mr. Adomah their sympathizers, threatening them to refrain from publishing the news.

She said a letter signed by Mr. Dzirasah stated that, "I wish to inform you that I am aware of all the efforts you are making to scandalise me and put my family and me in the poorest of lights. Since everybody in Ghana now seeks justice and rule of law, I am waiting patiently for the publication to appear in the media and I will also seek justice in respect of which you also seek justice."

"I asked our clan chairman, Tator Owula and Rev. S. A. Dzirasah to convey to you my preparedness to pursue both issues to their logical conclusion and I hope that they delivered the message to you unequivocally."

When Chronicle reached the chief state attorney, Mrs. Okyere Darko, she said after sending the docket to the attorney general for an advice, a family head, Mr. Allan Dzirasah, came and requested for the docket, indicating that the case would be solved amicably at home.

She said should peace fail, the state would take the case and ensure that justice is done.

Asked whether it is normal to release a docket forwarded to the attorney general under such circumstances to anybody, the chief state attorney said, "Because Mr. Allan Dzirasah who is a member of the Dzirasah family came and said they wanted to resolve the case out of court, we looked at it from his position as a family member, and since there are many ways by which a dispute can be resolved, we released it to him".

She was quick to add that the case or the docket could be re-opened if it became difficult to achieve peace.

Hon. Kofi Dzamesi, the Volta regional deputy minister who was also reached, he stated that immediately he heard of the case, he called the chief state attorney for clarification and was told that the docket had been released to a family member named Allan Dzirasah, who claimed he was going to resolve the case.

Mr. Dzamesi said if peace is not achieved and the complainants feel dissatisfied with the method of resolution, they have the right to pursue the case at court by re-seeking justice.

It would be recalled that the unlawful exhumation of Dora in the latter part of November last year sent cold shivers down the spines of the people of Tefle.

The police arrested Mr. Adolph Dzirasah, the father of the second deputy speaker, Ken Dzirasah, together with Aglanu and Akpaligah, a jujuman who have since been bailed by the speaker.

Reports have it that the jujuman told the police that his job is to exhume bodies and he was paid by Adolph to exhume that of Dora. Adolph also told the police that that he consulted an oracle which told him that his sister was a witch and was the cause of his woes, hence the need to exhume and cremate her corpse.

According to Adolph, the oracle told him that the deceased was a witch and that if the body was not exhumed and cremated with seven live frogs, seven cockroaches, seven lorry tyres, special firewood and other strange animals, her ghost would kill the males in the family, starting with Ken.

Adolph is said to have taken the police to Agbakope, a village near Tefle and showed them the spot where the deceased was burnt, but no traces of burning were found.

Meanwhile the grandchildren contend that should the case be solved amicably, Mr. Paul Dzirasah, the father of the second deputy speaker, should provide the body or the ashes of Dora and the rest of the culprits who perpetuated the act to confirm that the was not used for a ritual.