President John Dramani Mahama has expressed gratitude to the families of Dr. Murtala Mohammed and Alhaji Muniru Limuna Mohammed for their patience while awaiting the completion of forensic analysis prior to the burial of their departed loved ones.
He noted that although Islamic tradition typically requires prompt burial, the condition of the deceased necessitated forensic examination to facilitate identification.
The President acknowledged the success of the forensic analysis conducted in South Africa, which enabled identification of the individuals, including others.
He assured that the government would support the families in arranging burials at times deemed appropriate by the relatives.
President Mahama described the late Dr. Mohammed and Alhaji Mohammed as devoted Muslims who served their nation diligently.
He made these remarks during the Islamic burial ceremony held in honour of the two at the Military Cemetery in Tse Addo, Accra.
He assured the families that they are at liberty to visit their grave of their lives ones anytime they wish.
“I want to thank the two families for their patience. We recognize that in Islam, when a person has died, they are supposed to be interred as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the state in which the bodies were made it difficult for us to identify positively which was which, and that’s why we had to go through the scientific process of identifying. Happily, that process was ended yesterday, and we received electronically the forensic results for our two brothers, and that’s why we have come to bury ahead.
As I speak, the forensic report for the rest have also arrived, and so, in consultation with their families, we will decide how the families are able to hold separate events to commemorate their loved ones, and the government will be there to assist them.”
The two brothers, Murtala and Muniru, were very close to me: Murtala I mentored from when he was a new MP at Nanumba and he had been a devout member of our team, one of our very bright intellectuals, very eloquent in parliament, and he had been part of our reset agenda. Muniru was like a younger brother; he was a permanent fixture in my house and acted all out like my personal assistant. I sent him on errands, and so this is a very deep personal loss for me. But I know that they were Muslims and very devoted Muslims, and so I believe by Allah’s grace he will receive them in Jannah-tul Firdaus.”
He also thanked the mourners who were present and asked Allah to grant them blessings for their support to the bereaved families.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
