Residents of Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana are currently living in fear after news of grave looting in one of the biggest cemeteries (Takoradi Cemetery), broke.
Some of the bodies have gone missing whilst some have had their vital parts looted. Others have had their coffins destroyed by the looters. Reports indicate over one hundred graves have been looted.
Confirming the incident, the Environmental Health Director of the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr. Abdul Karim Hudu, indicated that their checks revealed over 30 graves have been tampered with.
“The cemetery is currently full, we have since asked residents not to bury dead bodies there again. Since there are no activities there, weeds have taken over the place and we do not have security at the cemetery. I went there with my team to ascertain the extent of looting and it was bad. We counted over 30 graves that have been looted and we still don’t know the people behind the act,” he said..
But a visit to the cemetery revealed that over one hundred graves had been looted.
Mr. Hudu further indicated that the Assembly has taken measures to stop the criminals from further causing harm at the cemetery.
“We have contracted prisoners to weed the cemetery and we shall also hire the services of a security company to guard the place. We have also made arrangements to collect maintenance fees from families who have relatives buried at the cemetery. We still have the Sekondi public cemetery for people to bury their deceased relatives,” he added.
In 2019, the late mayor of the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis, Anthony K.K Sam closed the Takoradi Cemetery after it reached its full capacity.
A wide stretch of land surrounding the Ketan Road cemetery has been dedicated for families to bury their dead relatives.
By Eric Nana Gyetuah
