Investigate death of Rev Father Abakisi — Family
The family of the late Reverend Father Kelvin Abakisi who allegedly hanged himself at the Saint Victor Major Seminary in Tamale has disputed the claim that the deceased committed suicide.
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The family contends that there was no way the deceased could have killed himself and expressed the belief that the Rev. Father Abakisi died as a result of external interference.
It contended further that from its own interrogation of some persons, as well as the medical report and the state of the deceased’s apartment, “there was no way by which our son could have committed suicide. What happened on August 23rd was murder, pure and simple.”
According to the Northern Regional Police Command, a pathologist report on the deceased indicated that Rev. Father Abakisi died by hanging. The autopsy was performed at the Yendi Hospital.
Burial
Reports reaching the Daily Graphic indicated that the body of the late Rev. Father Abakisi was interred in Tamale on Thursday, September 4, 2014.
When contacted on phone, the family representative, Mr Moses Asekabta, confirmed that the deceased had been buried.
He, however, made it clear that the burial would not put the family’s case to rest.
Appeal/misgivings
The family had issued a statement requesting the Inspector General of Police to institute full scale investigations into the incident and arrest and prosecute persons, “responsible for this heinous crime.”
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Meanwhile, they had also appealed to the leadership of the Catholic Church to suspend with immediate effect the planned burial of the deceased until investigations into his death have been concluded.
“Full impartial and proper investigations in the family’s view would protect the integrity of the church, the security of all priests in the Catholic Church and the entire clergy,” the statement added.
The statement expressed concern over the initial report that the deceased committed suicide by hanging.
Police reaction
The Regional Police PRO, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, has welcomed the family’s decision to seek a second opinion on the cause of death of the priest. He said his outfit was prepared to co-operate with the family for any further investigations into the cause of death of the deceased.
“For now, we can only rely on the report of the Pathologist. Again, the scene that we visited and the body that we saw pointed to the fact that the deceased allegedly hanged himself,” the officer said.
Background
The late Abakisi who was a tutor of the Saint Victor Major Seminary at Malshegu in Tamale was found hanging in his sitting room at the seminary at about 7 p.m on August 23, 2014, by some of his colleagues.
The deceased, 31, was transferred to the seminary about six weeks to the incident from the Navrongo/Bolgatanga Diocese of the Catholic Church.
The body was conveyed by the Police to the Yendi Hospital for autopsy because of a technical hitch at the morgue of the Tamale Teaching Hospital then.