The Ga South Municipal Assembly has ordered the stoppage of an unauthorised cemetery development at Oboum, leading to the exhumation of a body that was wrongfully buried on a privately owned parcel of land.

According to the issue, the landowner, Eric Bedford Nii Quaye, revealed that he was alarmed to learn that a section of his land located near a river had been allocated by unknown persons, believed to be local traditional authorities or their assigns, for use as a cemetery. 

According to him, one body had already been buried without his knowledge or consent.

“I have a land at Oboum. There is a river around there, and I understand that the chief or whoever gave the land out as a cemetery knew all these. One dead body was already buried there,” he said. 

“The land is mine, so I reported it to the necessary authorities.

An order was given for the police and the Assembly to go and exhume the body, so I can reclaim my land. I have all documents over the land title and everything that shows the land is mine,” he told journalists during an interview. 

Following his complaint, the Ga South Municipal Assembly, under the authority of the Municipal Chief Executive Moses Kabu Kubi Ocansey, authorised a team of environmental health officers, accompanied by the police, to carry out the exhumation. 

The exercise, when carried out successfully, will ensure that the land returns to its rightful owner.

According to the Assembly, no authorisation had been granted for the location to be used as a cemetery, stressing that such activity, especially near a waterbody, violates municipal environmental and public health regulations.

The Assembly says it is taking steps to engage all relevant stakeholders to prevent similar incidents and ensure that land use in the municipality follows proper legal and health guidelines.