3 grave looters remanded

Three alleged grave looters, caught in possession of human skeletons, are standing trial at the Goaso Circuit Court in the Ahafo Region.

Their possession, it has turned out, were the remains of the late mother of the Nifahene of Abuom, who had been buried for years.

Farmers Yaw Yiredie, 35, and Isaac Berko, 34, and a fetish priest Peter Kor, 35, have been charged with four counts, including hindering the burial of a dead person and being in possession of human body parts.

The skeletons, the fetish priest is alleged to have told the police, were ground into powder and used for rituals to fortify people who visited his shrine for protection.

The trio have also been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and stealing.

They have been remanded in police custody to reappear on Thursday, August 8, 2019.

Their pleas were not taken when they first appeared in court last wednesday.

According to the police, it was the vigilance of community dwellers that exposed the activities of the trio.

Facts

According to the police, at about 11.30 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, 2019, residents of Abuom in the Asunafo South District in the Ahafo Region arrested Yaw Yiredie and Isaac Berko on the outskirts of the town in possession of a sack containing human skeletons, and handed them over to the police.
When the two were interrogated, they claimed they were sending the body parts to Kor, the fetish priest, at Kokooso.

The police arrested Kor, but further investigations revealed that Berko and Yiredie dug up the grave at the Presbyterian Cemetery at Abuom to collect the bones of the dead person.

According to the police, it was also established that the grave was that of the mother of the Nifahene of Abuom, who was buried years earlier.

Kor was alleged to have told the police that they ground the human bones into powder and used them for rituals to fortify people who visited his shrine.
He said the powder was also used to treat various ailments.

Re-burial

Meanwhile, the court has ordered the police to release the skeletons to the family for re-burial.

The Asunafo South District Police Commander told the Daily Graphic that the police were waiting to take the statement of the family before the skeletons would be released for re-burial.