Explainer: What Happened At Solomon Tubee Funeral Home

 

Patrick Moryor, Margibi Fellow

Margibi—On Friday, May 31, 2025, the Solomon Tubee Funeral Home in Kakata was a place of attraction. 

On this day, the family of the late Mary Massaquoi had gone to remove her remains from the funeral home for a night of wake-keeping at her family residence in Bassa Community, Kakata City, Margibi County, followed by burial on Saturday, June 1, 2025. 

Unfortunately, Emmanuel Borbor, one of the sons-in-law of the late Ma. Mary explained to our Margibi County Fellow that after they had gone for the removal, her remains could not be found in the mortuary. 

He further explained that the management of the funeral home owned by Solomon B. Tubee brought a dead body of another old lady and imposed it on them, justifying that it’s the body of their mother. 

This unforeseen situation sparked public attention and prompted the Liberia National Police, Kakata Detachment, to speedily investigate the incident. 

During a swift police investigation, the CEO of the funeral home admitted that he mistakenly swapped Ma. Mary Massaquoi body with a woman from Sanoyea, in Bong County. 

He added that the family from Sanoyea came for their late mother body on Monday, May 26, 2025 and Ma. Mary's body was mistakenly given instead and was buried on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Sanoyea. 

Tubee told police investigators that at the time when the family from Sanoyea came to remove the body of their mother, he was not at the funeral home but gave the command to those on the ground to release the body but unfortunately, they swapped the body. 

The police, after their investigation, ordered the funeral home management along with the family of Ma. Mary Massaquoi to travel to Sanoyea immediately and assess the grave of the body that was taken there on Monday, May 26, 2025. 

Furthermore, they mandated Tubee to carry along the body that was given to the Massaquoi family in exchange for Ma. Mary body to enable the people from Sanoyea to verify as to whether the body belongs to them. 

Yes, the Massaquoi family agreed to follow the LNP and Tubee in Sanoyea to verify the grave. It was one of the wishes and demands. 

What happened when the police, Tubee, and the Ma. Mary family entered Sanoyea?

When the delegation headed by the police entered Sanoyea at about 1:30 AM, the family of Mot. Mamie Sackie from Sanoyea appreciated the Massaquoi family.

They further explained that during the time when they were having the wake-keeping of their mother, after they opened the casket, few people noticed that the body was not of them, but they managed to bury it due to the level of expenses they made and looking at the financial cost attached to bringing the body back and advice they received from traditional leaders.  

They were excited and apologized to the Massaquoi family for burying their mother without their consent. 

They, however, blamed the funeral home management for a poor record system and called on him to improve to avoid future occurrences. 

Upon realizing that Ma Mary Massaquoi bodies was buried in Sanoyea on May 27, 2025, by another family, the Massaquoi family requested that their mother bodies be dug out and returned to Kakata for proper burial. 

Meanwhile, this request and demand gained approval from the Liberia National Police, traditional leaders, and the management of the funeral home.

At the final moment, Ma. Mary Massaquoi bodies was dug out of the grave and brought back to Kakata for proper burial by her family. 

We have no record of this, but according to Tubee, it’s the first of its kind to experience such an unforeseen situation. 

Moreover, for the record, with the two funeral homes in Kakata, nothing of the sort has been observed or brought to the public's attention. 

Conclusion: It's a fact that Ma Mary's body was mistaken for another person and buried without the consent of her family. This could be attributed to poor management and record systems.