By Christian Yalley | With contributions from Kuzagbe Efua Bernice.
It is one of the most devastating experiences a parent can go through- to lose a child. Especially, at a moment that was supposed to mark a major turnaround for their future.
There is the grief itself, which can feel overwhelming and disorienting; but what can make things worse is the loss of imagined futures.
The Agbleke family lost a 17-year-old son who was a final-year student of the Labone Senior High School on a Saturday morning.
That unfortunate incident happened a few days after the young man visited the family, visibly healthy and all cheerful.
Upon a return to campus, off-record conversations with his mates indicate that the late Desmond Agbleke was well, happy and healthy on the outside.
But fate would have its own course. Desmond was found sick on Saturday morning and, such standard protocols would require, he was rushed to the Police Hospital for treatment.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it.
Officials are yet to confirm the cause of the death as the body is currently at the Police Hospital morgue.
The family says it will not agree to any autopsy done on the body because it is against their decades-long tradition to touch their deceased relatives with ‘knife’.
That has resulted in a ‘tussle’ between the family and government agencies, which are insisting on conducting an autopsy to ascertain the actual cause of the student’s death.
“For our family, it is against our tradition to touch any dead relative with knife. We are not interested in the autopsy; all we need now is the body to perform our traditional rites and customs for burial,” Michael Agbleke, father of the deceased, told 3news in an interview.
According to him, “something will happen” should medical officers defy their request for the ‘whole’ body and go ahead with the autopsy, but he wouldn’t disclose what exactly it is that will happen.
What does the law say?
The Coroners Act, 1960 (Act 18) establishes the procedure for investigating deaths in Ghana, with Sections 2, 5 and 18 focusing on reporting requirements, mandatory inquiries and High Court powers.
The section 2 requires a person in charge of a hospital or anyone with knowledge to immediately report to the Coroner any death that is violent, unnatural, or of unknown cause.
The law equally mandates reporting if a person dies while in custody or in a lock-up.
Questions have surfaced whether the medical officials can proceed to perform the autopsy without the consent of the family or they must yield to the family’s request.
It depends on the situation, such that in cases of unnatural deaths or where some level of criminality is suspected, there must be an autopsy; and when the death is natural, it is not mandatory.
The matter involving the Labone SHS student has been to the court, with an initial Judge directive that an autopsy is carried out.
For many who have heard the story, it is important to ascertain the cause of Desmond Agbleke’s death such that if there is something that could affect other students, health authorities can address it.
Beyond the autopsy, the family has another layer of issue because when they arrived at the hospital, the body of their late son had been sent to the ‘cold room’.
The family has reported the situation to the larger family heads in the Volta Region, and maintain there shouldn’t be any autopsy.
There will be an update on what becomes of the issue when all the dust settles.
Source: 3news.com