Former Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo has emphasised that Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, approved the date for her late father, Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka's, funeral.

Speaking to the media, she disclosed that the Manhyia Palace played a major role in the arrangements for the burial due to her father's ties to the royal family.

According to her, the funeral arrangements for Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka will begin on Friday, July 31, at Independence Square and will continue on August 8 with a thanksgiving service at Asante Mampong in Kumasi.

“On the 30th of July, we will go to Gomoa Mpota to bury my late father. On the 31st of July, we will be at Independence Square to hold the funeral service. Then, on the 8th of August, we will travel to Asante Mampong in Kumasi for the thanksgiving service. So everyone should disregard the rumours that the funeral will not take place or that it has been cancelled.

“My father is from a royal background from the Ashanti Region, and so 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.

The clarification comes a day after some Kantanka family members, led by Nana Akofena Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena I, Head of the Kantanka Family and Leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana (KAMOG), urged the public to disregard the reported July 30th as the funeral and burial arrangements of Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka.

Addressing the media in a press conference in Accra on Monday, July 27, at the Kristo Asafo Mission headquarters in Achimota, Accra, Nana Akofena stressed that until the dispute over his father’s will is resolved, there will be no burial.

He said, “Whatever is going on and the date that has been announced for my dad’s funeral, I urge the nation and the members of Kristo Asafo to disregard it. Because the Asante Kotoko family has not announced any date for my dad’s funeral, you see my uncles here, the clan head, and behind me are seated members of the church, the council of elders and some members of the church; regional council members are all here, and we say no date has been announced for my dad’s funeral,” he said in Twi.

According to him, “Despite numerous interventions and goodwill efforts, the desired reconciliation has not been achieved”.

He explained that the family remains divided over aspects of the funeral arrangements, alleging that some provisions contained in the late Apostle’s will, particularly those relating to the custody of his remains, have not been respected.

Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena said the family has therefore instructed its legal representatives to take steps to ensure that the wishes expressed in the late Apostle’s will are upheld.

“Our family has instructed our solicitors to commence the necessary legal proceedings to ensure that the wishes expressed in our late father’s will are given full legal effect,” he said.

Responding to her brother’s remarks on the funeral date, Sarah Adwoa Safo, speaking during media interviews in Accra, notably on Angel FM and Angel TV, stated that the funeral of Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka would proceed on Thursday, July 30, at Gomoa Mpota, followed by the Independence Square service on July 31 and thanksgiving in Kumasi on August 8.

“I am stating categorically that on the 30th, we are going to Gomoa to bury my late father. On the 31st of July, we will come to the Independence Square to hold the funeral service.

“It is not the behaviour my brother is putting up that will make me not give my dad a befitting burial,” she stressed.