Professor Wazi Apoh of the University of Ghana has dismissed viral claims that Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, lived in Ghana’s Volta Region for 40 years, describing the story as false and misleading.
The claims emerged from a circulating video featuring a man identified as a tour guide at the Volta Regional Museum.
In the video, the man alleged that Mary and Jesus relocated to Kpando Agbenoxoe after Christ’s birth, lived there for decades, and later returned to Jerusalem, where Mary died. He also claimed that a statue at the site commemorates this history and attracts Catholic pilgrims.
Reacting in an interview shared by Ghana Broadcasting Corporation on April 28, 2026, Prof Apoh firmly denied any link between the claims and his academic work.
“That is a lie, because in my research, I have never encountered that story before and I have never uttered that statement,” he said, criticizing the spread of misinformation.
The archaeology professor explained that the misunderstanding likely stems from his earlier research in the Volta Region.
He revealed that in 1996, he conducted an art historical study of the grotto at Kpando Agbenoxoe, which features 14 life-sized Stations of the Cross and a large statue of Mary measuring about 40 feet.
According to him, the reference to the statue’s height may have been misinterpreted as “40 years,” fueling the false narrative.
Prof Apoh clarified that his current exhibition at the Volta Regional Museum focuses on German-Volta historical connections and archaeological findings linked to missionary activity in the area—not biblical claims about Mary.
“I have not heard anywhere or written anywhere that Jesus’ mother, Mary, ever lived in Agbenoxoe,” he stressed.
The clarification comes amid growing concerns over misinformation on social media, particularly involving cultural and historical narratives.