PHOTO: Man, 22, resurrects 7 days after burial

• Posted on March 17, 2014March 17, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Residents of Luk, a Togolese farming community near Bunkpurugu in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District of the Northern Region, are living in fear and panic following the mysterious ‘resurrection’ of a man seven days after his burial.

Twenty-two-year-old Konkper-Laar Samuel, a standard 16 pupil of one of the basic schools and the second male child of his father, Konkper-Laar, who died after a short illness, was buried at the family mausoleum.

This was preceded by the performance of his funeral rites, characterized by feasting in accordance with the customs and traditions of the sparsely populated Luk community, who are all traditionalists.

A stone and a piece of stick were placed on his grave pointing to the north as a symbol of separation of the bond between the living and the dead.

According to the family, he became the property of the ancestral world.

Per their tradition, the seventh day was supposed to be marked with a family gathering where issues regarding the deceased’s property and debts, if he had incurred any whilst alive, would be resolved, but this was never to be.

When all the prominent members of the family had gathered and were about to start the event around 8 o’clock that morning, Samuel was spotted entering the house with the very clothes he was buried with.

According to information gathered by DAILY GUIDE, there was a shout of ‘Run for your life’ with the elders trying to outsmart one another to save them from being touched by the “ghost.”

He was reported to have walked straight to the main yard of the compound house, picked a stool, sat down and laughed loudly at the elders, who were then scaling walls and windows.

Grave

Some dashed out to the grave side to see if it had been opened but to their amazement, it was intact, further heightening their fear.

They wondered what was actually happening in the community.

News of Konkper-Laar Samuel’s ‘resurrection,’ which spread like wildfire, saw residents fleeing the town, claiming they could not afford to live in the same area with a “ghost.”

The chief priest was called in and some elders, who believed were spiritually fortified, mustered courage to enter the yard to question his mission back on earth when he had been escorted into the land of the spirits a week back.

According to him, his grandfathers had requested he return to earth after a series of spiritual battles because his time was not due, allaying fears he was a ghost.

He allegedly appealed to all those who owed him to come and settle their indebtedness or incur his wrath.

What was supposed to be a funeral house was turned into a tourist centre with persons from all walks of life trooping into the village to catch a glimpse of the “ghost” and take pictures at his graveside.

DAILY GUIDE also visited the town together with David Zamana, a Bunkpurugu-based journalist to ascertain the truth of the matter and they were shown the grave and the “ghost” but were not allowed to take pictures.

Mission

The 22-year-old told the journalists through a French interpreter that his mission on earth had not been accomplished per the instructions of his grandfather – reason for his return.

Just when the journalists were about leaving, Togolese gendarmerie stormed the house, handcuffed the “ghost” and pushed him into a waiting vehicle.

At the time of filing this report, nothing had been heard about the “ghost.”

From Stephen Zoure, Luk Togo