Fear has gripped some residents of Dumanfo, near Mamponteng in the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti Region, after suspected ritualists chopped off the hand of a corpse that was laid in state for family and friends to pay their last respects.
The wake-keeping for 38-year-old Clement Osei Kofi was halted when the bereaved family discovered a missing hand in the wee hours of Thursday, May 30, 2024.
According to residents, the suspects chopped off one of the hands of the corpse and bolted with it.
They suspect ritualists might have carried out the act to use the hand for devilish purposes.
The sister of the deceased, Yaa Pomaa, revealed that his brother had all his hands intact when they brought the body home from the mortuary for the final funeral rites and interment.
“My brother was laid in bed when the family decided to keep wake ahead of his burial; the corpse was arranged and laid on the bed for sympathisers to pay their last respect to him as custom demands.”
“Most of us keeping awake were tired and so fell asleep. We woke up in the morning and discovered the bed on which we had laid him had been tampered with. After a thorough check of the body, we saw his left hand was missing,” she narrated.
She noted that the family had reported the incident to the police in the area for investigation.