By Amadou Jadama
The body of a Sierra Leonean man was exhumed from its grave at the Sukuta Muslim cemetery on Monday three months after its interment.
Confirming this to The Standard yesterday, Pa Sankung Bojang of Sukuta explained: “At the end of the asr prayer it was announced in the mosque that some children discovered that a body was exhumed from a grave at the main Muslim cemetery. On arrival at the cemetery, we saw the head was removed from the torso and the bones were disjointed. I think when they dug the grave, they forcibly pulled out the body and that might have caused the separation of the head and bones. When you look at it, it was not a fresh grave.
I was really shocked. Until now I could not fathom what might have caused this vile desecration. This is very sad and disheartening to the people of Sukuta. Such a thing has not happened from the time of our forefathers.”
He added: “I am sending out this warning on behalf of the people of Sukuta to all Gambians and foreigners residing in the country that if we catch anyone engaging in desecrating graves like this, you will replace the occupant of that grave . This is also a notice to the authorities as from today. Our respected parents and forebears are in dignified rest here. Therefore, we will never allow criminals to come and do these dirty acts here.”
Update
Meanwhile, as we were about to go to press last evening, the police issued an update on their investigation into the matter. The police update reads: “Police investigators with personnel from the Ministry of Health on Monday visited a cemetery in Sukuta after reports of human remains found lying next to a graveyard was brought to their attention.
“Investigations were conducted with the help of healthcare experts and elders of the mosque committee. Preliminary investigations revealed that the said remains were those of a corpse buried by the Sukuta Mosque Committee months ago. The body though decomposed revealed no sign of missing body parts. The head was detached but found at the scene. The public is urged to remain calm, vigilant and report any suspicious activity seen or heard.”
