Family at loggerheads over dead son

The demise of one Godwin Kojo Marfo, 43, at the Milton Keynes, London, on 2nd February, 2012, has spark serious controversy among family members.

Part of the family members living with the deceased in London reportedly flew the corps to Ghana to begin arrangements for the burial ceremony.

And this was done on the blind side of the relatives residing in Ghana, which raised high suspicion of foul play.

The faction in Ghana upon getting wind of the report that the corpse of Kojo Marfo had been flown into Ghana, quickly launched investigations, and later found out that the corpse had been deposited at Gillman Abbey Funeral Home in Darkuman, a suburb of Accra.

The cause of his death, according to the autopsy report from the Milton Keynes General Hospital, was Aspiration Pneumonitis.

The Leader of the Family, Oheneba Ntim Barima, in an interview after the identification at the funeral home said about two months after the death of his brother, one Dina Ntim Frimpong and one Irene Asabre who are also family members but living with the deceased in London, did not inform the family at home but secretly flew the corpse to Ghana.

He explained that it was a friend of the deceased who mastered courage to inform the relatives in Ghana about the death of their beloved brother.

Ntim Barima alleged that Irene Asabre used her documents to marry Mr. Kojo Marfo before he could travel to London and so she had gone to claim the insurance of Mr. Kojo Marfo in London.

Oheneba Ntim Barima said he petitioned the Ghana High Commission in UK through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yet nothing came out of these efforts.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Gillman and Abbey Funeral Home, Emmanuel Abbey, confirmed the story and said the corpse belongs to the family, but explained that the family must pay the bills that have been accrued before the corpse could be released to them.

But, Ohene Ntim says the family in Ghana do not have any agreement with the Home and would not pay.

However, several calls to Dina Ntim Frimpong in London who allegedly sneaked the corpse to Ghana have proved futile.