Nine family members detained for breaking funeral casket 

Madam Owoahene Elizabeth whose burial was to take place yesterday, has been taken back to the mortuary after a misunderstanding between the family, and her husband couldn't be settled. Mr. Owoahene who is a timber contractor, and a sawmill engineer found his wife Madam Elizabeth, when he visited Pekyi Number One in 1991. He was looking for a place to eat, after arriving in the town at night. The town which was a developing town at then, had no restaurants operating at night except rice and koko sellers, who sold only during the day. Madam Elizabeth gave him some bread and fish to eat for the night, and through that, they became friends. Madam Elizabeth who at the time was a tea seller, selling only during the morning, found Mr. Owoahene to be jovial and couldn't stay away from him. 

Mr. Owoahene couldn't stop his admiration for the woman who saved him from hunger, on the night of July 2 1991 and in so doing, asked to see her family. The family of Madam Elizabeth requested for nothing at the time, and gave Mr. Owoahene the permission to take Madam Elizabeth to his home in Bogoso. Mr. Owoahene did not take his wife for granted, and gave her a legal marriage ceremony on 26 November 1993. The two became legally married on 26 November, and started having their own family. Madam Elizabeth after the birth of her last child on February 18 2011, got a message from her family, to officially invite her husband for a family meeting. 

The family on March 4 2011, gave a list of items to Mr. Owoahene to go and bring, as the marriage items for the family. The family who didn't request for anything when Mr. Owoahene went to see them on July 1991, was now requesting for items worth over GH¢2500 in monetary value. Mr. Owoahene made the appeal to them that, they all witnessed his court wedding to Madam Elizabeth in 1993, so there was nothing to pay again. But the family still insisted that, once they didn't take anything during the marriage, makes the marriage null and void. And it was against their tradition, to give a woman to a man, without taking anything. They were blind at the time, that made them reject any offering. 

Mr. Owoahene thanked them and never went to them again, and neither did he also deliver the items or the monetary value they asked for. Madam Elizabeth felt sick for seven days, the 4 December to 11 December, and died on the following day 12. Mr. Owoahene informed the family of what happened, and they sent people for the body. Mr. Owoahene paid for the cost of transporting the body from Bogoso to Pekyi Number one, and also paid for the full cost of the mortuary bills. Family couldn't agree on the exact date to bury Madam Elizabeth, and Mr. Owoahene complained about the mortuary cost draining his finances. 

He was paying GH¢25 a day for the body at the mortuary, which was GH¢750 a month. From the 12 December 2020, the day Madam Elizabeth died to Friday 5 February 2021, was a total of 55days at the mortuary. Which Mr. Owoahene paid GH¢1,375 for the mortuary bills, and additional GH¢3,250 as transportation for the family. In total he paid GH¢4,625 for the body, and transportation to the mortuary. The family was so kind on him when they set Friday February 5 to Monday February 8, as the burial date, to bury Madam Elizabeth Owoahene. 

By custom children are to buy casket to bury their mother, and since the children of Mr. Owoahene are not independent children, the cost of casket was him to bare. After spending GH¢6,400 on a casket, the family rejected the casket that, it was too cheap for their deceased relative. Mr. Owoahene changed the casket to a GH¢9,000 casket until the family accepted it. The family after taking their mortuary money GH¢4,625 and GH¢9,000 casket, which was a total of GH¢13,625, told Mr. Owoahene he is not fit to bury his late wife. All because, he did not submit the items the family requested in 2011. 

They told him, it's either he marries the wife again, or he cannot partake in the burial. Mr. Owoahene who wanted to send his late wife home peacefully, didn't say a word. Madam Owoahene was laid in state yesterday February 6, and the family refused to bury her after the laying in state. The casket carrying the woman to the cemetery was all destroyed by the family because, they were not in agreement with how the marriage took place. Mr. Owoahene reported the situation to the Pekyi divisional police command, who gave him refuge and arrested nine family members, who took part in destroying the casket. Madam Elizabeth Owoahene's body was taken back to the mortuary, hoping to be buried tomorrow morning, after a new casket has been acquired. The nine family members who destroyed the casket were all behind bars as of this morning. 

Content created and supplied by: RockyJDJones (via Opera News )