Unseen Darkness: The family where every son loses sight at age six

The story of a family of six, made up of four strong men who mysteriously lost their sight immediately after they turned six years old, is one for the books.

The Awuku family, made up of four men and a surviving father, have all lost their sight, except for their father, who currently manages one eye after he was shot in the other.

David Awuku, the eldest of the siblings, who narrated part of their story in an interview with Kofi TV, said he and his other brothers lost their sight under strange circumstances.

“In 2017, my father got shot in one of his eyes. My mother, who was taking care of the home at that time too, passed away. We weren't born blind. We were all able to see perfectly well until we turned 6 years old,” he disclosed.

Emmanuel, one of the brothers, gave a detailed account of how their father, who was the breadwinner of the home, got shot. 

“Our parents were the ones taking care of us because we were very incapable. They used to burn and sell charcoal. One evening, at around 8 pm, they went to check on a batch of charcoal they were burning, and we waited for them to return, but to no avail. We waited till morning, and there was still no trace of them.”

Narrating further, he said, “We decided to go to the farm to check what happened to them, and on our way, we met a certain man who asked us to return. He told us that while my parents were burning the charcoal that evening, someone shot my father in the eye and he was rushed to the hospital. Till now, we don’t have the slightest idea of who shot our dad. 

“Now he is getting weaker by the day, His energy level has dropped, although he keeps going to work. He isn’t as strong as before. We went from hospital to hospital, yet the doctors couldn't tell what exactly was wrong with our sight.”

They also recounted an interesting moment when they went for checks at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and the specialist informed them that their eyes were far healthier than his. 

“There was this instance when we went to the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for checks, and after a thorough check of our situation, the specialist who attended to us told us that we had healthier eyes than him. He detected that our eyes were more perfect than his.

“He also said he wouldn’t be able to prescribe any drugs for us because there was nothing wrong with our sight,” Joshua said. 

Expressing his sentiments about their condition, Joshua added, 

“It’s sad when our friends are going to work to cater for their families, and we can’t do much to support ours. Even what to eat is a problem sometimes. 

Asked if they have tried different approaches to ascertain the cause of their plight, including resorting to shrines, the eldest son said, “It’s something we have been considering, but we haven't taken a step yet.”

Aside from the four blind brothers, the last born, Blessing, also lost her sight after she turned 10 years old. 

According to her, prior to being completely blind, she could see from the morning until 6pm.

Blessing is currently a student at the Bechem School for the Deaf and Blind.

Watch the full video below:



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