Members of the Bretuo family of Akyem Apaaso, near Oda in the Eastern Region, experienced a profound shock upon discovering that the body they had received from the morgue at the Oda Government Hospital and brought home for burial was not that of their relative.
Consequently, they were compelled to return the body to the morgue.
Furthermore, the hospital was unable to locate the body of their deceased relative, 62-year-old Margaret Yaa Kyeraa, which had been deposited at the morgue the previous month for burial on May 16, 2026.
A family member, who wished to remain anonymous, informed The Mirror that a team of undertakers had prepared the burial site two weeks prior, on a Friday evening, in anticipation of the body’s arrival for viewing before the burial.
The family member explained that when a delegation brought the body from the mortuary, some family members who closely inspected it realized it was not Yaa Kyeraa. They noted that Yaa Kyeraa had a very short haircut, whereas the body brought for burial had braided hair.
On May 20, relatives of the late Kyeraa informed this reporter that the missing body had been located at the morgue of the Suhum Government Hospital. This discovery followed investigations to determine whether her body had been mistakenly transferred there by individuals who had recently moved corpses from the Oda Government Hospital to Suhum.
They confirmed that Kyeraa’s body had indeed been taken to the morgue of the Suhum Government Hospital.
The family member stated that the widower, who had traveled from Gabon, the father of the deceased, who had journeyed from Asante Juaben in the Ashanti Region, and numerous relatives who had come from Kumasi to Apaaso were profoundly disappointed by this unfortunate incident.
When contacted, the Medical Superintendent of the Oda Government Hospital, Dr. Kwabena Awuku, requested that the reporter withhold the story until he had made inquiries and efforts to locate the body. He described the situation as regrettable. These efforts included bringing medical experts from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to conduct a DNA test on the children of Kyeraa and the unclaimed body.
On Monday, May 18, 2026, the hospital management, led by Dr. Awuku, met with members of the bereaved family.
Through negotiations, family members in Suhum hired a hearse to transport Kyeraa’s body to the morgue of the Oda Government Hospital and retrieved their relative’s body after verifying its identity.
Meanwhile, the bereaved family of Kyeraa has scheduled June 13, 2026, for her burial and final funeral rites.
When The Mirror contacted Dr. Awuku regarding the discovery of Kyeraa’s body at Suhum, he neither confirmed nor denied the information and advised the reporter to “consult the family members of Kyeraa.”
