There is serious tension at Amanase in the Eastern Region over corpses that are being kept in a room at the Amanase Palace.
Residents within the area have expressed fear over what they described as the negative spiritual and health effects it will have on their lives.
One of the residents who spoke on condition of anonymity alleged that the caretaker chief of Amanase, Nana Addo Agyekum, who holds the title of Gyasehene of Amanase, is the one who brought the dead bodies to the palace.
According to the resident, an old cemetery was sold out to an investor for developmental purposes, which compelled the caretaker chief to exhume the dead bodies of some prominent chiefs who were buried a few years ago for reburial.
The resident added that, instead of the caretaker chief doing what is required by performing the necessary rites and reburying the corpses, he rather chose to keep them in a particular room at the Amanase Palace.
Some of the residents close to the palace have had to flee to other areas due to fear of spiritual attacks at night as strange things have been appearing and disappearing in the community.
They alleged that the caretaker chief is known to be a spiritualist, and they believe that the purpose for keeping the corpses of prominent chiefs in the palace is for spiritual purposes.
The residents compared the situation at the Amanase Palace to the bad days of one of the infamous Ghanaian ritualists, Dr. Sri Yogi Ram Beckley, who was a soothsayer and supposedly captured young students and sacrificed them to his divine beings.
They further revealed that the fear of vindictiveness and the threat to their lives had compelled them to keep their mouths shut until they began to hear strange noises at night.
According to them, the caretaker Chief has been using all sorts of spiritual powers and fear to gag other cabinet members who they believe may be aware of the issue.
The residents claimed that the elders have refused to act in the interest of the people.
The residents further alleged that the caretaker chief, during his days as an Assemblyman, was accused of using dead bodies for spiritual purposes, for which his opponent reported him to the traditional authority.
They believed that the corpses and skeletons packed in over 50 money bags (Ghana Most Go Bags) are meant for ritual purposes.
The residents questioned why corpses exhumed from a cemetery will be sent home on the blind side of the appropriate authorities and kept where human beings are living, which according to them poses a serious health threat to them.
They further questioned whether the police and the environmental health officers in the district were not aware of the situation.
However, some family members whose fathers are among the corpses at the Palace have also threatened to report the matter to the police for further action.
In a follow-up to the Suhum Police Station, the Crime Officer, ASP Oscar Attah Yeboah, confirmed that there was a tip-off by an informant that one Addo Agyekum, who is the Gyasehene of Amanase, is allegedly keeping some corpses and skeletons in money bags and investigations are ongoing to bring the perpetrator to justice.
All efforts made to contact the caretaker Chief on the phone yielded no result.
