The family of the late Ghanaian footballer, Raphael Dwamena, is reportedly split over the circumstances surrounding his death and the arrangements for his funeral.

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Raphael Dwamena, 28, died on Saturday, November 11, 2023, during an Albanian league match between his side Egnatia and Partizani, where he collapsed on the field and passed away while being transported to the hospital in an ambulance.

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He had a documented history of heart problems, which had greatly affected his career in terms of his attractiveness to football clubs.

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Following his demise, his family in Ghana have been relating with the media, updating Ghanaians on the state of the family in this difficult timed arrangements being made to see to his burial. According to reports, the maternal and paternal sides of the late striker are not on the same page over matters relating to his unfortunate demise and issues thereafter.

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In a Peace FM interview on Monday, November 13, 2023, the father of the late striker, Patrick Amoako Sefa, detailed how he learned of the demise of his son.

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He highlighted the family’s consistent engagement with the Ghanaian wife of the late striker and the role she was playing in the family’s effort to fly the body home for burial and funeral rites.

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He mentioned that the wife was the point of contact between the family and the Albanian authorities, indicating that they were making provisions to secure a flight to bring the body to Ghana.

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He also appealed for help from the Ghana Football Association and others to facilitate the movement of the body from Albania to the country.

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“We’ve spoken to his wife, and she indicated that they were making provisions to secure a flight to bring the body to Ghana. We need help to bring the body to Ghana. We are appealing to the Ghana Football Association and all persons to help us bring the body to Ghana,” he said.

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However, one day after the revelation, Raphael Dwamena's mother, sister, and uncle made an appearance on Onua TV, offering an account of events that significantly differed from the narrative provided by Dwamena’s father.

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The alleged uncle of Dwamena conveyed that attempts to establish communication with the wife had proven unsuccessful.

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He revealed that Dwamena's sister had made five unsuccessful attempts to contact the wife, and the calls persisted until the wife purportedly turned off her phone, extinguishing their hopes of obtaining firsthand information from someone close to the player in Albania.

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As per the supposed uncle, who asserted to have found out that Dwamena resided with his wife in Albania following the tragic incident, the agent of the late striker had served as their intermediary.

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According to him, the agent, whose identity he declined to disclose, had been providing the family with updates on the events surrounding the demise of the player.

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“We only found out that his wife was staying with him after his death. This is because whenever we try to establish contact with her over the incident, she tells us she’s busy. “When it happened, the sister claims she tried getting in touch with the wife, but all her five attempts were unsuccessful. She even switched the phone off on her. We were lucky to have heard from his manager, who is now our point of contact there,” he said on Onua TV.

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As it stands now, it is not clear when and how the body of the late striker will be brought to Ghana for burial and funeral rites.

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