The desire among three friends from Asante Bekwai in the Ashanti Region to become rich overnight by way of rituals (Sakawa) turned bizarre when one of them allegedly turned into a cat after sleeping in a coffin for seven days.

The names of the three friends were given as Kwadwo Kumasi, 28; Yaw Mensah, 37, and Kwame Osei, 26.

They are said to have contacted a popular jujuman, identified as Mallam Kantanka, at Sefwi Asawinso in the Western Region, to perform rituals for them to become rich overnight.

As part of the rituals, the jujuman instructed them to sleep in a coffin in turns for seven days.

According to a resident of Asawinso, Nana Yaw Koranteng, who is a close friend of Mallam Kantanka’s, Kumasi elected himself to be the first to sleep in the coffin, while the remaining two waited for their turns.

Nana Koranteng said when the first seven days elapsed, two of the friends went to check on Mallam Kantanka at his shrine but he was nowhere to be found.

He said apart from the disappearance of the jujuman, there was no trace of Kumasi who had slept in the coffin.

Worried about the turn of events, Nana Koranteng said, the two friends quickly reported the case to the police at Asawinso.

Police confirmation 

When contacted, the Asawinso District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Richard Boahen, confirmed the incident and said the two friends reported the incident last Monday and the police quickly invited Mallam Kantanka for interrogation. 

During the interrogation, Mr Boahen said, Mallam Kantanka confirmed the report of the two complainants but said the jujuman gave the two seven more days to perform some rituals to bring Kumasi back to life.

He said the police were waiting to see Kumasi’s return, as promised by Mallam Kantanka, while investigations were ongoing.

As of the time of filing this report, some policemen and residents of Asawinso had thronged the premises of the shrine to see how Mallam Kantanka could possibly bring Kumasi back to life.

According to reports yet to be confirmed, a cat and an amount of money were found in a coffin in which Kumasi had slept for the rituals.

It is suspected that Kumasi had turned into the cat.

Some of the people the Daily Graphic spoke to dismissed that claim as mere superstition, but others said in the era of ‘sakawa’, it was difficult to wish the reports away.