Muslim leaders in the Ashanti Region are divided over former President John Dramani Mahama’s promise of building mortuaries in Zongo communities.

The regional Chief Imam and his youth leader share different opinions on the need for Muslims to buy into the promise.

The Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheik Abdul Mumin Haruna, says the idea of building mortuaries is a disgrace to the Muslim community, emphasizing such facility is the least on their priority lists.

“Our main focus as Muslim leaders and the community in general is education. We don’t need mortuaries but we need schools,” said the Chief Imam on Akoma FM‘s morning show GhanAkoma.

“Mortuaries become necessary for Muslims when a member dies under peculiar conditions that need extra postmortem and investigation. Why will you build mortuaries when others are building houses and schools?”

However, the regional Muslim youth leader, Alhaji Sadat Mohamed, has opposed the Chief Imam’s take.

He phoned into the show in a rebuttal.

“We the youth believe that the mortuaries will really help the Muslims. The Sheikh has said his mind but it doesn’t represent the view of the whole Muslim community in the region,” he said.

Meanwhile, the JOHN MAHAMA 2020 Campaign has described publications carried by sections of the online media titled “2020 elections: Mahama promises more mortuaries for Zongo communities” as false, misleading and inaccurate.

Acording to the team, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama, during a live interview with TV XYZ and Woezor TV, took the opportunity to highlight his party’s proposed interventions in the People’s Manifesto for Zongos and Deprived Urban Settlements.