Grandmother, 90, loses High Court fight with her grandchildren to bury her late daughter after claiming she is Ghanaian royalty and cremation is against 'maternal burial custom'

A 90-year-old grandmother has lost a High Court battle with her grandchildren to bury her late daughter, who she claims is Ghanaian royalty and cremation is 'a grave taboo', a court heard.Mercy Ofori-Kuma 'suddenly' lost her daughter Margaret, 60, on June 9 and said she is part of the Akyem Royal Family, the rulers of a traditional kingdom of Ghana, a court heard.She, along with another of her daughters, Victoria, was determined Margaret should be buried, according to the 'established maternal burial custom' of the family's 'royal lineage'.They claimed cremation was a 'grave taboo' where 'serious and lasting customary and spiritual consequences' would ensue, including, 'death', 'madness or serious affliction', and 'disownment or exclusion'.But her granddaughters, Michaela Fordjor, and Karyn and Delores Ofori, insisted their mother had wished to be cremated.Margaret's death was unexpected and therefore there was no time for formal discussions regarding arrangements for her body. A near two-month High Court battle ensued, with her children eventually winning the right to carry out cremation.At a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday, the judge concluded Mercy and Victoria's only evidence was an 'alleged single statement' Margaret made 'during a conversation'.Mr Justice Macdonald also noted Victoria's 'smirking, contemptuous demeanour' in court, which he was 'forced to reprimand' her for. A 90-year-old grandmother has lost a High Court battle with her grandchildren to bury her late daughter, who she claims is Ghanaian royalty and cremation is 'a grave taboo', a court heardThe grandmother made 'hurtful' claims that her daughter had a poor relationship with Karyn and Delores 'due to persistent harassment and abusive behaviour towards her and other members of the family.' The judge did not accept Mercy's claims.Margaret's daughters, meanwhile, all provided evidence of their 'close relationship' with their mother - who they said described Mercy and Victoria, just two days before her death, as 'very manipulative'.In a statement read in court, Karyn recalled a significant conversation she had with her mother in September 2023, following the funeral of another family member.Ms Ofori said: 'During that conversation my mother remarked that the family liked to "bury and forget" people and that this would not happen to her. She referred to a deceased relative and asked words to the effect of, "Who visits Uncle Kofi?"'My mother then spoke to me in Twi and said words which I clearly understood to mean: "For me, never. You can cremate me and bring me home."'I understood her to mean that she did not want to be buried and left in a grave, and that she wanted her daughters to cremate her and bring her remains home.'At no time did my mother personally tell me that she had changed her mind and wished instead to be buried.' The daughters claimed their mother had said variously to them over the years, 'If I die, don't bury me', 'The buried are forgotten', and, 'Don't leave me behind'. Ms Fordjor said she understood those statements as 'a clear wish not to be buried and to be cremated so that she could remain close to her children.'The grieving daughter also spoke of a conversation with her mother about the death of her grandfather and Victoria caused them to leave the family home, to which Mercy did not intervene.In a conversation that occurred just 11 days before her mother's death, the court heard that Margaret had said: 'Grandma has always been passive when it comes to conflicts among the children. That day, I was hurt. If I don't say it, I'd be lying.'Ms Fordjor added: 'During the same conversation my mother said that we should focus on our immediate family and reminded us that, even in her passing, it was us, her children, that she wanted to remain close to because she felt she could not rely on people outside us.'For me it was consistent with the same theme I had heard over many years: she wanted her daughters to remain the people closest to her and involved in her arrangements, she did not want to be left behind, and she wanted to remain close to us after her death.'Meanwhile Mercy could only recall one conversation from approximately two years ago in which she asserted: 'Margaret told me privately and unequivocally that she must not be burned (cremated)'. The judge concluded that the children can proceed with arrangements for Margaret's funeral and ordered that Mercy, Victoria and other members of the family are not to interfere.