The Mortuaries and Funeral Facilities Agency (MoFFA) has given the management of the Battor Catholic Hospital Mortuary Annex at Anyamam a 14-day deadline to account for the whereabouts of the body of 53-year-old Georgina Tsiakie Agbasi.
The directive comes after the agency conducted an assessment and investigation into the circumstances surrounding the reported disappearance of the deceased’s remains from the facility.
Dr. Phillip Sarpong, Deputy Registrar of MoFFA, said preliminary findings had revealed gaps in some of the mortuary’s processes.
In an interview monitored by The Ghana Report with GNA at Anyanam in the Ada West District, Dr Sarpong said the agency had engaged the facility’s management and was working to determine what happened to the body.
He said management had assured MoFFA that efforts would be made to locate the remains.
Dr. Sarpong appealed to the bereaved family to remain calm while the agency and the mortuary management continued efforts to establish the whereabouts of their relative’s remains.
Reverend Ebenezer Ogbe, a family head, however, said MoFFA had not directly engaged the family, despite their presence when representatives of the agency visited the facility.
He said the family had waited for an opportunity to speak with the agency’s representatives but was not approached.
Rev Ogbe said the family only learned about the 14-day ultimatum after journalists who had spoken with the agency informed them.
“It was the media guys that told us that the mortuary management had been given two weeks to provide our royal,” he said.
He explained that the disappearance of the body had caused considerable emotional distress within the family, particularly for the deceased’s children and husband.
Rev Ogbe said the family was also worried about the impact the prolonged uncertainty was having on the health and wellbeing of the deceased’s relatives.
According to him, the husband had been particularly affected by the situation and had struggled to eat or drink since the family was informed that the body was missing.
When asked whether the family would immediately proceed with the burial if the remains were found, he said the decision would depend on the condition in which the body was recovered.
He said the family remained deeply distressed and was awaiting the outcome of efforts to locate the remains.
