What has happened to our understanding of dignity after death if the state now has to deploy personnel to funeral grounds to ensure that people treat corpses with respect?
The Mortuaries and Funeral Facilities Agency (MOFFA) says it plans to deploy personnel to all districts across Ghana to monitor funeral activities and prevent the mistreatment of corpses. The personnel are expected to use mobile phones and motorbikes to move quickly to funeral grounds and document suspected cases of abuse.
The intention is understandable. The question, however, is whether Ghana should really need “funeral police” before we learn how to respect the dead.
There is a deeper problem here than simply people breaking rules at funerals. It is a problem of culture, behaviour and, increasingly, the way some funerals have become public spectacles.
In some instances, the dignity of the deceased appears to take a back seat to entertainment, social pressure and the desire to attract attention. The presence of cameras and social media has only made this worse. What should be a solemn farewell can sometimes become an opportunity for shocking displays that generate conversation and attention online.
That is precisely why MOFFA’s proposed intervention deserves attention. Monitoring funeral activities could help identify practices that would otherwise go unnoticed. If personnel are present, record violations and ensure that offenders face consequences, it could serve as a deterrent.
But we should not deceive ourselves into thinking that deploying personnel across the country will solve the problem. There cannot be an officer at every funeral. There is also the uncomfortable possibility that these “funeral police” could face the same corruption pressures that have undermined other enforcement efforts in Ghana. If people have found ways to influence or bribe officials involved in the fight against galamsey, what guarantees are there that funeral enforcement officers would be immune?
What happens when a funeral organiser who has violated the rules offers an officer money to look the other way? What happens when the person involved is influential, wealthy or well connected?
The concern is not that every officer would be corrupt. It is that any system that gives officials the power to overlook violations must also have strong safeguards against abuse.
If Ghana is going to deploy “funeral police”, then there must be proper supervision, transparent reporting mechanisms and clear sanctions for officers who accept bribes or deliberately ignore violations. Otherwise, we could end up creating another enforcement system that people learn to negotiate rather than obey.
And even if there could be an officer at every funeral, a society that behaves appropriately only when it knows it is being watched has a much bigger problem.
The real solution must begin with education. People need to understand that death does not remove a person’s right to dignity. The deceased may no longer be able to speak for themselves, but their dignity should remain protected by the living.
Families, funeral organisers, mortuaries, religious leaders and communities all have a role to play in establishing that standard.
The law also has an important role. MOFFA’s proposal to strengthen legislation and introduce punitive measures against people who mistreat corpses is therefore significant. Rules without consequences often become little more than suggestions. If certain practices are clearly prohibited and offenders know that there are real penalties, people are more likely to think twice before crossing the line.
But enforcement must be balanced with responsibility. MOFFA personnel taking photographs or videos of suspected violations could provide valuable evidence. At the same time, the process must be handled carefully so that efforts to protect the dignity of the dead do not inadvertently create another form of exposure or humiliation.
There must be clear guidelines on what is recorded, how the evidence is stored and who can access it. Ultimately, Ghana’s funeral culture cannot be policed into respect.
Respect has to become a social value. The goal should not be to have funeral officers watching over every burial. The goal should be to create a culture in which families, communities and funeral organisers understand that there are boundaries that should never be crossed, even in grief.
MOFFA may need to monitor, investigate and enforce the law. But the responsibility for protecting the dignity of the dead cannot belong to MOFFA alone.
A society should not need an officer standing beside a coffin to remind people that the person inside was once a human being, with a name, a family, relationships, dreams and a life.
Perhaps the biggest question raised by the “funeral police” proposal is not whether Ghana needs more officers at funerals.
It is whether we have forgotten something that should never have needed policing in the first place. The dead deserve dignity.
