22-year-old Ghanaian, Richmond Osei aka Tawiah who died of police brutality, was laid to rest on Thursday, amidst invocation of curses by the family. He was allegedly brutalized to death by the police on patrol duties after he was mistaken as a thief.
The family put eggs, cutlass, bullet cartridge, knife, a piece of kente cloth, a pair of shoes, cup and a broom in his casket. The items, according to them, are meant to aid Tawiah in the spirit world to avenge his death.
His aunt said she had ‘nsamankom’ (a trance that enables the living to interact with the dead) and he instructed the family through her to put the items in the coffin to avenge his untimely death. The family contested the autopsy report which said he died of natural causes. The report concluded that Tawiah died of a heart attack.
In an interview, one of the family members said: “its all about tradition, we want him to haunt his killers by using these items, he shouldn’t allow them to go free, he should deal with them in equal measure, we want him to use the cutlass to butcher the police involved in the act and any management member of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) who also has a hand in his death.”