The small Liberian city of Kakata in Margibi County was recently shaken by a deeply distressing incident involving the mistaken burial of an elderly woman, Ma Mary Massaquoi. The incident, which unfolded at the Solomon Tubee Funeral Home, caused immense anguish and outrage amongst the deceased’s family and community. Ma Massaquoi, who had passed away after a brief illness, was taken to the funeral home two weeks prior to the scheduled burial. However, when the family arrived to retrieve her body for the funeral service, they were presented with the remains of a different woman.
The discrepancies between the body presented and the known characteristics of Ma Massaquoi were immediately apparent to the family. Emmanuel Borbor, an in-law of the deceased, pointed out the stark differences, stating the body given to them did not belong to their loved one. He highlighted noticeable features, such as Ma Massaquoi’s distinct open teeth and tall stature, which were absent in the body presented by the funeral home. Other relatives echoed these observations, confirming the deceased was short, very old, and lacked teeth, contrasting sharply with Ma Massaquoi’s appearance. Despite the family’s protests, the funeral home initially insisted they had presented the correct body, furthering the family’s grief and frustration.
The distressing realization that their loved one was not at the funeral home ignited a frantic search. The family was eventually informed that Ma Massaquoi’s body had been mistakenly buried in Sanoyea, Bong County, a different county altogether. The news compounded the family’s grief, turning their mourning into a traumatic ordeal. They had been robbed of the chance to properly grieve and lay their matriarch to rest.
The Kakata police were immediately notified and initiated an investigation into the incident. Their findings confirmed the family’s suspicions, revealing a case of mistaken identity at the Solomon Tubee Funeral Home. The police determined that the funeral home had inadvertently released Ma Massaquoi’s body for burial with another family, resulting in her being interred in the wrong location and under the wrong name. The police instructed the funeral home to facilitate the retrieval of Ma Massaquoi’s remains from Sanoyea and return them to her family in Kakata. This entailed the exhumation of the body, a procedure further adding to the emotional toll on the grieving family.
The exhumation of Ma Massaquoi’s remains from Sanoyea and subsequent reburial in Kakata marked the culmination of a harrowing experience for her family. After days of uncertainty and emotional turmoil, they were finally able to lay their loved one to rest with appropriate traditional rituals. The reburial, held on Saturday, May 31, 2025, provided a degree of closure for the family, allowing them to mourn Ma Massaquoi and celebrate her life. Relatives expressed relief at finally being able to give her a befitting burial, surrounded by friends, church members, and community.
The incident underscores the critical need for meticulous care and diligence in the handling of deceased individuals within funeral homes. Patrick Tubee, the CEO of Solomon Tubee Funeral Home, acknowledged a “technical error” by his staff, admitting responsibility for the mistaken identity and subsequent burial. While the admission provided some semblance of accountability, it does little to alleviate the emotional distress experienced by Ma Massaquoi’s family. The incident serves as a somber reminder of the devastating consequences of such errors and the importance of implementing procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The emotional scars of this ordeal will likely remain with the family for a long time, a testament to the profound impact of the funeral home’s mistake.
