Koforidua — Fear and panic gripped residents of Zongo Member Junction, a suburb of the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua, following the discovery of a mystery white coffin exhibited in public at Okyere Washing Bay, a popular washing bay in the area.

The mysterious white coffin, with a piece of white cloth wrapped around it, has generated heated debate among residents of the area, as people wonder how the coffin came to be in public and its implications.

Many residents pointed to the work of the underworld Sakawa, which is unfortunately gaining grounds among the youth as the quickest route to riches.

As soon as word began to go round that a strange coffin had been sited in public, hundreds of people from all walks of life made their way to Okyere Washing Bay to catch a glimpse of it.

Later, as people besieged the area and made it impossible for the operators of the Washing Bay to go about their legitimate duties, owners of the bay asked some of their apprentices to carry the strange coffin away from the premises.

The coffin was moved to the side of a near-by road. The recalcitrant crowd followed the coffin to the relocated site, causing traffic jam, as vehicular movement of cars was slowed down.

Some Pedestrians that The Chronicle spoke to wondered about the effect of the coffin's public display, and vowed never to use that stretch of road again, so long as the coffin remained there.

According to them, since they did not know the origin of the coffin, it would be suicidal to pass-by it, considering the negative implications of Sakawa practice.

The Manager of the washing bay, Mr. Eric Boateng, affectionately called Acostic, said he came to meet the coffin in a Toyota Urvan, with registration number ER1333-11, when he came to work at about 6am.

According to him, he left the driver of the Urvan, whose name was given as Abeeku, a customer who has been patronizing his facility, for town to buy some things.