Ghanaian hiplife-musician Castro De Destroyer, real name Theophilus Tagoe has been gone for over two weeks and many people including myself have pronounced him dead, though, his body has not been found.
I’ve heard the arguments which stand that, you do not pronounce a person dead until a body is found and I am aware of the common law principle which states, inter alia that, a missing person can only be pronounced legally dead after 7 years—-and this is where there is evidence pointing to the fact that the person was subjected to a particular peril, unless his disappearance can be otherwise explained. But as always, there are key exceptions.
The above means a missing person should be assumed alive unless there is enough strong evidence indicating otherwise—and though such evidence does not exist in Castro’s case, we all have lost hope and have pronounced him dead (in mind and with our lips).
Nevertheless, there are certain people who are still of the view that, Castro is alive—and interestingly, these people are his close family and friends.
The above sounds like a case of having lost something you so much cherish and therefore, the shock having clouded your judgment, making it particularly difficult to come to terms with the fact that you’ve lost that thing for good. We’ve all experienced this before, in relationships, properties and in persons.
I believe Castro’s people are facing the above human state of mind—difficult to let go when it is really gone. But conversations I’ve had with several industry persons in the last few days and from what I’ve heard, there is still some good chance that Castro De Destroyer is not dead, perhaps, hiding in a hotel somewhere, scratching his head over how to “acceptably” come out.
Definitely, if Castro re-appears today unhurt or without any well thought of story to tell, people will go fuming, including myself and probably, the law will even find a charge for his butt—not for just being stupid but for breaking a substantive law of the State.
Now, I am sure you want to know what I’ve been hearing and the sort of credibility I’ve personally accorded these stories, though, I remain part of the many who think it will be a 21st century miracle for Castro to re-appear. (And remember when it comes to miracles, I perfectly agree with David Hume’s explanation in ‘An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding’).