Man to marry dead girlfriend

Koforidua, Feb. 28, GNA - A 33-year-man at Koforidua, Kwaku Duah, is appealing for support to raise over 20 million cedis to enable him to burry his girlfriend.

The amount is being demanded by the family of the dead woman and includes medical and mortuary bills as well as a fine. Margaret Odame, 35, died on May 26, 2006, from pregnancy-related complications and five children from different husbands survive her. Margaret's family is demanding Duah should marry the corpse before they would allow her interment.

Her body has been lying at the Koforidua Regional Hospital morgue, has accumulated a bill of 15 million cedis and more than one million cedis from laboratory fees when she was admitted at the hospital. Margaret's family is demanding that Duah pays 10 million cedis to be used to perform marriage rites for the corpse and pays a compensation of 500,000 cedis.

Duah told the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday that unless he received help, there was no way he could pay that amount.

He said he had tried in vain to get some resources because his tailoring job generates very little to care for the surviving child who also requires special attention.

Duah said upon the intervention of some persons and institutions, the family has now agreed to collect 5 million cedis to be used to perform the marriage rites but the accumulated mortuary bills have made it impossible for him to have any peace since the incident happened. He is appealing for an urgent support to enable him bury the girlfriend.

Madam Agatha Serwah Okrah, Paralegal Officer in charge of the New Juaben Municipal Office of the International Federation of Female Lawyers, said she had tried to bring the parties together for an amicable settlement but that had failed.