Family demands answers over reported disappearance of corpse at Battor Catholic mortuary in Anyanam

The family of the late 53-year-old Georgina Tsiaki Agbasi of Anyanam in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra Region is demanding answers following the reported disappearance of her remains at the Battor Catholic Hospital Annex Mortuary at Anyanam. The family said it reported the matter to the authorities on Saturday, September 5, after members arrived at the mortuary on Friday, September 4, to collect the body for burial but were informed that it could not be located. The family said Madam Agbasi's body was deposited at the facility by members of the Daitey family to whom she was married, following her death. The family said the Daitey family, which received a receipt as the depositor, had subsequently been visiting the mortuary to check on the deceased's body. The family explained that the Daitey family was initially assigned an identification number 30 for Georgina's body but was later informed by mortuary attendants that the number had been changed to 35. The family alleged that the attendants later explained that the facility was sharing identification numbers among different bodies. The family said mortuary management informed them on the morning of Saturday, September 5, that three female bodies had recently been discharged from the facility. They said the management subsequently traced the three bodies to Goi, Wokumagbe and Ningo to establish whether her remains had been mistakenly released. The family said the searches, however, did not establish that Madam Agbasi's mortal remains were among the three. The family said following the missing remains of their late daughter, they demanded that the hospital management allow them entry for proper identification of other bodies in the mortuary, but their request was reportedly denied. Mr Eric Agbasi, a member of the family, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the development had caused considerable distress and confusion among relatives. Despite the inability to locate the remains, the family proceeded with the funeral arrangements and held the funeral and burial ceremony without Georgina's remains. The family is now calling on the management of the Battor Catholic Hospital Annex Mortuary to provide a clear account of what happened to the body while it was reportedly in the facility's custody. When the media team visited the mortuary to seek management's response, the manager refused to respond to the issue. During the visit, the GNA team observed that the facility was overfilled with bodies, raising questions about its capacity and the adequacy of its identification and monitoring systems. GNA