A dying civil servant instructed his wife to bury him with $55,000, which he intended to appease God to forgive his earthly sins.
The civil servant, a Ugandan was 52-year-old, when he died. His metallic coffin cost $5,500. Identified as Charles Obong, he was a senior personnel officer at the Ministry of Public Service for a decade (2006 – 2016).
His son-in-law confirmed that his will stated that his wife should deposit a huge amount of money in his coffin, which in Ugandan money was 200 million shillings.
The money was to be given to God on the Day of Judgment as an offertory so that his sins could be forgiven. Even though the exact sin was not stated, he asked his brother and sister to ensure that his wife does as he instructed.
Uganda’s Daily Monitor said that Obong died on December 17, 2016 after a protracted illness and was buried in his ancestral home in the northern Lira district of the country.
His will was however ‘violated’ even before his burial. Part of the money he saved for the bribery to God, was stolen from the safe where he kept it and only $5,700 was found in his coffin when it was exhumed.
The Monitor quoting a source close to Margaret, Obong’s wife said the huge sum of money disappeared from the safe. The deceased’s brother Justin Ngole said the theft was reported to police. Meanwhile, $5,700 recovered from the coffin after the exhumation of Obong’s body, has been handed to the deceased’s family.
Burial is a lavish ceremony in Uganda and it has an official seal. In September, Uganda parliament announced $20,000 funeral package for each lawmaker as a way of ensuring deceased members of the National Assembly are given ‘befitting burials’.
The parliament planned to spend 67.7 million shillings on burial for each member who died.
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