A rare and disturbing grave looting incident has unsettled residents of Mampong in the Ashanti Region after the corpse of an 85-year-old woman was stolen from her grave exactly one year after her burial.
The incident occurred in the same week the bereaved family was preparing to mark the first anniversary of the woman’s death, turning what should have been a solemn remembrance into shock and anguish.
The looting was discovered last Tuesday, 7 February 2026, when gravediggers working at the cemetery noticed that one of the tombs had been tampered with.
Kwame Effah, a gravedigger who has worked at the cemetery for several years, said he was alerted by a colleague and immediately recognised the grave involved due to his familiarity with the area and the family.
He explained that the tomb, a modern structure that allows coffins to be slid in during burial, had been forcibly opened. The coffin was broken into and the corpse removed, while burial items such as the shroud were left behind.
According to eyewitness accounts, the suspects may have taken advantage of a heavy downpour that night to carry out the act unnoticed.
A day after the theft was detected, the corpse was secretly returned to the cemetery. The body, however, was without its head, which appeared to have been deliberately severed with a sharp object.
Yaw Nsoh, the second of five children of the deceased, confirmed that the body was that of his mother and expressed deep pain over the desecration.
He said the family was devastated by the incident, which occurred at a time they were planning to honour her memory.
Meanwhile, the Assembly Member for the Akyeremade Electoral Area, Kwame Nkrumah, described the incident as bizarre and said it had caused apprehension among residents.
He confirmed that the Ghana Police Service, through the Mampong District Police Command, had taken up the case.
The corpse was later reburied under police and environmental health supervision, while investigations continue.
The Mampong traditional authority is yet to be formally notified in line with custom.
