GHANIAN MAN FORCED TO PAY BRIDE PRICE OF DEAD WIFE

A middle aged man has been forced to pay the pride price for a corpse; the lifeless body of his intended wife before her family members allowed her burial rites to be performed.  Mr. Joses Osei, a driver of the University for Development Studies had lived with the deceased as ‘husband and wife’ for 7 solid years without paying her pride price. The couple had been blessed with two children.
But over the weekend, family members of the deceased compelled Mr. Osei to pay for an ‘item’ that most people described as not worth buying. By Fante custom, the ‘husband’ was made to pay 8 pieces of cloth, a dozen head scarves, a dozen handkerchiefs, a dozen pants, 2 engagement rings, Schnapps and 200 Ghana cedis before his deceased wife could be laid to rest.
Madam Mary Osei passed on at the Tamale Teaching hospital after a short illness on 25th of August. A member of the deceased who spoke to Tamale-based Filla FM’s Kwabena Ntow, on condition of anonymity, said per their tradition (Fante), it behooved on the family to ensure that their unmarried daughters living with men are married base on customary practices.
According to him, the husband of the deceased was forced to pay the pride price at that particular moment because several efforts made by the deceased and her family members for him to perform the customary marriage rites had proved futile.