Professor Wazi Apoh, Dean of the School of Arts and Professor of Archaeology at the University of Ghana, has strongly dismissed viral claims suggesting that Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, lived in Ghana’s Volta Region for 40 years.

The controversy began after a video circulated on social media, featuring a man described as a tour guide at the Volta Regional Museum.

In the video, the man alleged that Mary and Jesus relocated to Kpando Agbenoxoe after the birth of Christ, lived there for decades and later returned to Jerusalem, where Mary eventually died.

He further claimed that a statue of Mary at Kpando Agbenoxoe was built to honour this supposed history, attracting Catholic pilgrims to the site.

Professor Apoh, however, categorically denied any association with the story.

Speaking in an interview shared by GTV on April 28, 2026, he clarified that the claims were falsely attributed to his research.

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“That is a lie, because in my research, I have never encountered that story before and I have never uttered that statement…. we call it crap of lies and I don’t know why a museum security man or watchman should be allowed to tour guide people and even make that pronouncement on social media,” he added.

Apoh explained that the confusion may have stemmed from his academic work in the Volta Region.

According to him, in 1996, he conducted an art historical study of the Grotto site at Kpando Agbenoxoe, which features 14 life-size Stations of the Cross and a colossal statue of Mary measuring about 40 feet tall. He believes the reference to “40 feet” was misinterpreted as “40 years,” leading to the false narrative.

The professor emphasised that his ongoing exhibition at the Volta Regional Museum focuses on German-Volta connections and archaeological findings related to missionary activities in the region and not biblical claims about Mary.

“I have not heard anywhere or written anywhere that Jesus’ mother, Mary, ever lived in Agbenoxoe,” he stressed.



AM/VPO

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