GENERAL NEWS
Covid-19 deaths: 6 bodies buried at Awodome cemetery
Environmental Health Officials in the Greater Accra Region have buried six Covid-19 infected bodies at the Awodome cemetery.
Although the officials planned for eight bodies, members of two families failed to show up in the first-ever Covid-19 public burial since the third wave hit Ghana.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has recorded a total of 945 deaths since Covid-19 hit the country.
Speaking with JoyNews‘ Maame Esi Thompson, shortly after the burial, the Environmental Health Director of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Joseph Asitanga, cautioned the public against what he observed as a disregard for the Covid-19 protocols, reminding that the virus is real.
“I want to tell every Ghanaian that the Covid is real,” he said.
Five of the bodies were from the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and one from the Ga East Hospital.
The Health Director said the protocols of the burial demands that “when the person passes on and we are informed that it is Covid, details of the dead person is recorded in our office then we start the process.
“Bear in mind that the law does not permit us to give the bodies to the family members, so when a person passes on, we do much counselling for the family.
According to him, education is provided for the family “and we tell them that this is a pandemic, and therefore, a pandemic is handled by the government so we help to handle the body.
“We will do everything possible to help lay the person to rest so, at the mortuary level, the bodies are kept at a different session from the other bodies.”
He further explained that apart from disinfecting the body for burial, “we disinfect the whole area, the vehicle that will carry the body, the coffin, even the grave.
“The people who are to do the handling are adequately protected with the PPEs, you the media people, before you have access to come and join the programme, we must protect you.
“After we finish the covering [of the grave] we will disinfect the whole place again before we leave.”
Meanwhile, some aggrieved families of the deceased disagreed that their relatives died of Covid-19.
“She did not die of Covid because if it was, her children who attended to her at the hospital would have been quarantined,” one told JoyNews.
He quizzed, “Why then have the children been left to walk about in public? Then all of us would be affected by the virus so if we behave like this in this world, it’s very painful.”
Another relative said, “we lost her I think about 10 days ago. My sibling did not contract Covid-19 because if it were so, all those who were around her before her demise would have been isolated.
Meanwhile, some aggrieved families of the deceased disagreed that their relatives died of Covid-19.
“She did not die of Covid because if it was, her children who attended to her at the hospital would have been quarantined,” one told JoyNews.
He quizzed: “Why then have the children been left to walk about in public? Then all of us would be affected by the virus so if we behave like this in this world, it’s very painful.”
Another relative said, “we lost her I think about 10 days ago. My sibling did not contract Covid-19 because if it were so, all those who were around her before her demise would have been isolated.”
According to him, his sibling was diagnosed with kidney failure and my sibling died, “you said you were taking her to a special ward, just some few hours you said she had contracted Covid.”
Mr Asitanga, however, refuted the assertion, “it doesn’t pay any doctor, doctors don’t get a reward for labelling any family member as a Covid body, and we are the last end of solving the problem.”
He said until the medical report indicates that a person died of Covid, “we have no hand in the body.”
GENERAL NEWS
48-Year Old Ghanaian Poisoned To Death In South Africa – Family Demands Justice
Newton Kwaku Boateng, a 48-year-old Ghanaian businessman based in South Africa, died mysteriously after being poisoned to death in his own house in Gauteng Province.
According to reports from the deceased’s brother George Effah Boateng, he died on Thursday, March 2, 2023, after struggling to fight for his life after drunken a poisonous tea but no one could come to his aid despite attempts by his house help to come to his aid but were prevented by his wife Alinah Mahlangu, a South African national, while his cell phone was snatched from him, preventing him from calling for assistance.
His wife Alinah Mahlangu prior to reporting the incident to the Kempton Park police station in the Gauteng Province, the deceased’s Range Rover, which was parked in his garage, vanished to an unknown location, along with the deceased’s other valuable personal belongings, which were all taken from his flat.
When the Ghanaian community in South Africa learnt of the mystery surrounding their countryman’s death, a delegation was dispatched to meet with the wife and question her about the cause of death.
According to the deceased wife’s narrations, the deceased died after taking a tea leaf, but a preliminary examination of the body revealed bruises and cuts around the neck and back, as well as signs of being strangled after being poisoned.
The inconsistencies in the deceased’s South African wife’s comments infuriated the Ghanaian community in South Africa, who suspected foul play and wrote to the High Commission, which wrote to the police on Tuesday 7th March 2023, asking for cooperation in the investigations.
She was also accused of secretly transporting Newton Kwaku Boateng’s body to a private funeral home without a police escort and without the knowledge of any family member or members of the Ghanaian community, which the family and the Ghanaian community in South Africa described as a very bad ploy to conceal the true truth from the public and called on the Ghanaian High Commission to intervene immediately.
Both the deceased’s family and the disgruntled Ghanaians have accused the deceased’s South African wife of suspected foul play, alleging a cover-up in collaboration with the police, as well as threats against those appointed to oversee the investigations, autopsy, and final conveyance of the body to Ghana.
Mr. George Effah Boateng, the deceased brother who lives in South Africa and was given power of attorney by the late Newton Kwaku Boateng’s family, has also gone into hiding to protect his life after receiving threats from some friends of his late brother’s wife and unknown persons.
Mr Effah had previously expressed concerns about matters such as investigations and attempts by the wife to relocate the deceased’s body from the funeral home into an unknown mortuary while investigations were ongoing, which were vehemently opposed by the family, resulting in threats to his life.
The late Newton Kwaku Boateng’s brother believes his relative was murdered, and that the wife is a major suspect, but that she is working to prevent the family from gathering information, particularly the autopsy report, which indicates the cause of death.
She later held a memorial service on March 9, 2023, without the consent of the family or the Ghanaian community, a decision that was condemned by the Ghanaian community in South Africa.
Mr Godwin Attipoe, head of the family of the late Newton Boateng explained that “We are completely devastated and enraged. We are heartbroken and demand justice for our brother, whose life was taken under mysterious circumstances, while law enforcement agencies, rather than exposing the truth, are now attempting to shield and cover up the perpetrators “.
He revealed that the South African police have been making excuses for weeks after Newton Kwaku Boateng’s death, claiming that they are still investigating the incident despite the fact that it occurred in his own flat and that autopsy results are pending.
“We have been denied several attempts to obtain the autopsy report to determine what could have caused the death of our brother by the wife, who is in collusion with the police, and would call on the Ghana High Commission in South Africa to assist the family in supervising the autopsy on the deceased, which the South African police and the wife have refused,” Mr Godwin Attipoe added.
Mr. Richard Kweku Boateng, a cousin of the deceased based in the United States of America, reiterated that the family has not authorised the wife Alinah Mahlangu or any of her accomplices to represent the family on the issue of acquiring the autopsy report or burring their relative in South Africa, and would like to request that the Ghanaian High Commission in South Africa intervene by mediating and ensuring that the autopsy report is successfully completed and subsequently conveying the body to Ghana for burial.
Mr. Richard Boateng emphasised that the family also warned the deceased’s wife to stop plotting to overturn and possibly cause of death of their relative, as they had been reliably informed of allegedly colluding with the South African investigative body in charge of the case to destroy the dockets, as there had been threats from the deceased’s wife to some family members to stop requesting an autopsy report.
“Even though the Ghana High Commission in South Africa has given us the initial backing with letters to see to the murder investigations, autopsies play an extremely important role in medical malpractice lawsuits because they provide detailed information about the cause of death and will urge that the commission come to the aide of the family at this crossroads; legally, autopsies are only required under certain circumstances, including if there is suspicion of foul plundering,” Mr Attipoe filed an appeal.
If someone dies but is not under the care of a medical professional, an autopsy may be ordered.
The official cause of death for the deceased in this case is unknown. However, the family stated that they still have unanswered questions.
ENTERTAINMENT
Philanthropist Cum Influencer, Abena Odo Donates To Korle But Teaching Hospital
Social media influencer and philanthropist, Abena Odo through her non profit organization “Abena Odo Foundation” has donated items to the ‘Reconstructive Plastic Surgery & Burns Centre’ unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, ahead of the yuletide holidays.
The items presented were packs of toiletries, dispensaries, drinks, water, food and some undisclosed amount of money. The team was warmly welcomed by management or the unit and thanked them for such benevolence done themselves. The food/drinks were shared on the spot to the sick and hurt.
Abena Odo in an interview with KTV at the premises explained that she set up her “Abena Odo Foundation” to aid people (expecially young ones) who are devastatingly burnt by fire or heat and who cannot afford to foot their bills. Also, her foundation assists alland pays bills for nursing mothers who are left to sleep on the bare floor after delivery because they cannot afford to pay for their bills. She further asserted that her passion towards this quest was activated when sometime back she visited a friend of hers in a hospital and found a nursing mother on the floor with a fresh set of twins. She said it literally broke her heart, hence she set up the foundation.
After barely two years in existence, “Abena Odo Foundation” has supported and paid bills and of burned patients and freshly delivered mothers who find it difficult to pay their bills. The ‘Reconstructive Plastic Surgery & Burns Centre’ unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, confirmed that it was Abena’s second time coming to donate items to them.
Abena Odo at the end, solicited for more hands to be on deck to help these victims because she could not do it all alone.
Watch snippets of the donation front below.
Contact Abena Odo Foundation by this Mobile money for further enquiries and sponsorship – 0593324910.
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