Ghanaian attend his own funeral

Credit BBC News / date unknown

Mourners at a Ghanaian funeral were astounded when the "dead" man arrived for the ceremony, reports Kweku Sakyi Addo from Accra.

There has been drama about life and death in the village of Adaklu-Dabalu in the Volta region of Ghana, with a moral about who is more deserving of the family's money - the living or the dead.

It began when Cujoe Gokah, 32, who had had surgery for a hernia, could not raise 450,000 cedi ($120) to pay hospital bills.

After several fruitless attempts by the hospital to get the family to pool the cash to pay the bill, surgeon Dr AK Tachie came up with a fundraising idea bound to hit the target.

According to the Ghanaian Times, the surgeon sent a message to Kujoe's family that he had died.

Prompt response The response was prompt and efficient. The family sent a delegation to settle all the medical bills, and arrange for the body to be handed over for the funeral and burial A few days later mourners arrived dressed in red and black chanting funeral dirges and singing the praises of the one they had lost

They had even bought a coffin which they brought along.

Suddenly Cujoe appeared in the door, to the astonishment of the mourners. The doctor explained it had been his ploy to get them to pay Kuju's bills. Their joy at finding Kuju alive was much stronger than the doctors trickery

Talcum powder Their dirges turned to songs of happiness. They covered Cujoe from head to toe in talcum powder which is a symbol of triumph, and carried him shoulder high. Instead of weeping there was dancing and singing and merrymaking all night when they returned to Cujoe's village. They returned the coffin to the coffin maker who graciously took it back and returned their money.

Cujoe has since become a tourist attraction. Schoolchildren are playing 100 cedi a time to see a man who once - sort of - died, but now lives.