Residents of Anlokordzi in Ho, the Volta Regional capital, were yesterday morning greeted with horrific news of the death of one of their neighbours.

The man, a 34-year-old father of two, met his untimely death in his attempt to attend to nature’s call. What makes the death more disheartening was that he was purportedly easing himself openly, otherwise known as “free range”, when he probably slipped, fell into a big drainage and died.

Anlokordzi is noted for open defecation due to its slummy nature, coupled with the waterway of the Alanle stream which passes through the town. Most of the houses have no toilet facilities and therefore majority of the residents defecate into the Alanle stream and the main gutter at the place.

News of his death attracted many residents, including his wife and a daughter who wailed profusely.

His wife, Comfort Atsitsogbui, identified the deceased as Francis Lorlor Adenyo, a popular mason in the area.

She said she had been looking for the husband since Sunday, October 26, following his refusal to go to church with the family.

She added, “I prepared food for him in the evening, waiting for him to come, but he did not come home.”

She said she was home and heard people saying a man about his husband’s height had been found dead in a nearby gutter.

Madam Atsitsogbui told DAILY GUIDE, “I rushed out only to realize that it was Lorlor… this is too much for me… I don’t know what to do.”

The Ho Municipal Police Command has since conveyed the body to the Municipal Hospital for autopsy.

According to their preliminary investigations, the deceased smelled of alcohol and might have fallen off when he tried defecating into the gutter.

More so, the partial draw-down of his trousers below the anal region pointed to the open defecation theory, according to the police. There were also some fecal matter all over his buttocks and portions of his trousers, suggesting that another person might have unknowingly defecated on him in the same “free-range” style.