The Accra High Court has suspended the funeral of the late Apostle Professor Emeritus Engineer Kwadwo Safo Kantanka for 10 days, halting burial plans as a legal dispute over the arrangements and leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission continues.
The court granted an interim injunction stopping the funeral service that had been scheduled for July 30. The parties are expected to return to court after the 10-day period as proceedings continue.
The ruling comes after weeks of public disagreement within the Safo family over when and how the founder of the Kristo Asafo Mission should be buried.
Former Dome-Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo has maintained that the proposed funeral date was not her personal decision but one approved by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, following months of consultations with the Manhyia Palace because of her father’s royal lineage.
Speaking on Citi FM on Tuesday, July 28, she said preparations for the funeral began after the family’s 40-day rites and that the family sought guidance from the Asantehene before any arrangements were made.
“My father is from a royal background in the Ashanti Region, and for a royal of his calibre, we couldn’t have done anything without consulting the King of the Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II,” she said.
According to her, several meetings were held with the Manhyia Palace before the Asantehene approved a burial date.
“We went back and forth from the palace trying to seek clearance, getting direction and advice on how to proceed. Finally, the King agreed that we had put a number of things in place and approved a date for us,” she said.
Adwoa Safo rejected claims that she had unilaterally fixed the funeral date.
“I want to state again, for those who have pretended they did not hear, that that date is not my date. That date is from the palace,” she said, adding that anyone challenging the decision should direct their concerns to the authority that approved it.
Her comments followed remarks by her brother, Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena I, Head of the Safo Family and leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission, who said disagreements over the funeral arrangements remained unresolved and that no official burial date had been agreed.
The dispute has also widened into a disagreement over the future leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission following the death of its founder.
Adwoa Safo accused her brother of damaging their father’s legacy by allowing internal family disagreements over the church’s leadership and funeral arrangements to be played out publicly.
“It is embarrassing and a shame that one person in the family wants to wash our dirty linen in public and engage the media all the time,” she said.
She also argued that leadership of the church should be left to God’s calling rather than personal ambition.
“If God wants you to lead the church, it will happen. But don’t force your way through it or use any means to secure the position,” she said.
Despite insisting that the funeral would proceed from July 30, the Kristo Asafo Mission rejected that position.
At a press conference on Monday, July 27, the Mission declared the proposed burial date “null and void”, saying mediation efforts involving prominent individuals had failed to resolve the disagreement.
The Mission said no new funeral date had been fixed and that an official announcement would only be made after consultations were concluded.
It also maintained that Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena, whom it says was named as successor in the late Apostle’s will, has the lawful authority over the funeral arrangements.
The High Court’s interim injunction now puts all funeral activities on hold while the legal dispute over the burial and related family disagreements continues before the court.
