Here's why the family of late Labone SHS student has rejected an autopsy

The family of a final-year student of Labone Senior High School who died at the Police Hospital has rejected plans to conduct an autopsy on his body and is demanding his immediate release for burial.

According to a report by 3news.com on Friday, April 17, 2026, the deceased, 17-year-old Desmond Agbleke, died on a Saturday morning after falling ill on campus.

Uncle speaks after SHS student found dead in deep freezer

The report indicates that family members say the student had visited home just days before his death and showed no signs of illness.

He was said to be in good health upon returning to school, but was later found ill and rushed to the Police Hospital, where he reportedly died.

The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, as the body remains at the hospital morgue.

However, the family says it will not allow any autopsy to be conducted, citing long-standing traditional beliefs.

“For our family, it is against our tradition to touch any dead relative with a knife. We are not interested in the autopsy; all we need now is the body to perform our traditional rites and customs for burial,” the father of the deceased, Michael Agbleke, was quoted by 3news as saying.

The decision has led to a standoff between the family and state authorities, who insist that an autopsy is necessary to determine the cause of death.

The report said the matter has already been taken to court, where an initial directive was given for an autopsy to be carried out.

Under Ghana’s Coroners Act, 1960 (Act 18), deaths that are unnatural or of unknown cause must be reported and investigated and may require a post-mortem examination.

However, the family maintains its position and is demanding the body without any medical procedure being carried out.

“Something will happen if medical officers go ahead with the autopsy without their consent,” Michael Agbleke warned, though he did not provide further details.

Family demands answers over student’s death in university swimming pool

The family has also raised concerns that the body was moved to the morgue before their arrival at the hospital.

They have since informed extended family members in the Volta Region and insist that their son should be buried according to tradition without an autopsy.

MAG/MA

Tsatsu Tsikata speaks on 'Unanimous FC' tag, 2020 election petition at Honorific Lecture