Businesses will shut down, and residents will be forced to stay indoors when the final funeral rites of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Konadu Yiadom III, are performed in Kumasi.

This directive was given by the King through one of his kinsmen during the one-week observation yesterday, Thursday, at Manhyia, Ashanti Region.

In a formal announcement on the funeral grounds, the kinsman announced that it would be a four-day funeral ceremony from Sunday, September 14, to Thursday, September 18. The 18th will mark the climax of the funeral and the day for the burial of Nana Konadu.

Per the instructions as announced by the Kingsman by the authority of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, all activities will have to come to a halt, and residents are expected to stay indoors on the night of Thursday, September 18, 2025, as part of the final burial rites of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Konadu Yiadom III.

Shops, social gatherings, and all forms of public activity will come to a halt to allow for the sacred burial at Bremang, the royal cemetery.

The directive, issued by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, aligns with centuries-old Asante royal traditions, which demand absolute solemnity during the burial of a King or Queen Mother.

"On that night, the streets must be empty. No one should be seen outside. If you cross our path, you do so at your own peril. Let every son and daughter of Asanteman prepare themselves for this day, by the command of the Golden Stool and the authority of the King," the Kingsman announced.

"Before that night, at exactly 1 pm, as part of the schedule, Otumfuo will sit in state to receive dignitaries and nobles".

The one-week observation of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Konadu Yiadom III, was held yesterday at the forecourt of Manhyia Palace.

The ceremony was nothing short of star-studded, as it saw the presence of dignitaries, including both current and past presidents and government officials. Former presidents John Agyekum and Akufo-Addo, and Vice President Professor Naana Jane, who was accompanied by the Chief Justice, Julius Debrah.

They paid respects to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and signed the Book of Condolence as a gesture of sharing in his sorrow.

Profile of Asantehemaa Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III

Asantehemaa was named Nana Ama Konadu at birth and is also known by all as Nana Panin or Naa Panin. She later became Nana Konadu Yiadom III, after her enstoolment as the 14th Asantehemaa on February 6, 2016.

She was born in 1927 at Benyaade Shrine at Merdan, a small town located at Kwadaso, Kumasi, in the days of the restoration of the Asante Confederacy.

She was born to Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa, who reigned from 1977 to 2016. Her father was known as Opanin Kofi Fofie, known popularly as Koofie or Keewuo, a carpenter by profession from Besease near Atimatim in Kumasi.

At a very tender age, just when she was a little over a year old and being breastfed, Nana Konadu Yiadom III, Asantehemaa, was separated from her biological mother and given to her aunt (mother’s sister), Nana Afia Konadu, at Ashanti New Town (Ash-Town), a suburb of Kumasi.

Nanahemaa never had any formal education, but she underwent a rigorous and quality informal education, learning a lot of things that were not taught in the classroom.

She was initiated and underwent puberty rites together with her niece, Nana Abena Ansa, in their early teens. She married Opanin Kwame Boateng, a blacksmith by profession from Aduman in Kumasi.

She was religious, kindhearted, calm, fair and firm, hardworking, very humble, unassuming, and accommodating. In the mid-1990s, Kwaku Firi Bosomfo, the priest of Kwaku Firi, prophesied through Baffour Akoto, a Senior Linguist of Asantehene, that Nanahemaa would be Queen of Asante someday, and surely, it came to pass.

Nanahemaa achieved a lot and has been recognized as such. Through her constant generosity in doing God’s work, the Saviour Church named a school after her, Nana Konadu Saviour School. She exhibited a high level of equity, justice, and fairness, and all cases brought before her have been settled amicably to the satisfaction of both parties involved.

Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, the 14th Queen of the Asante Kingdom (deceased)

In celebrating her 5th Anniversary as Asantehemaa, she made a huge donation to the mothers at the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU), Pediatric Emergency Care Unit (PICU) and Pediatric Emergency Unit (PEU) and paid for all the medical bills and expenses for new mothers at the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU) at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Manhyia Government District Hospital.

Nanahemaa started a vigorous campaign and instituted an annual event to encourage mothers to breastfeed their young ones, the main reason why she made a generous donation to the Mother-Baby Unit at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Manhyia Government District Hospital.

A brief history of former Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi

During the commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Sagrenti War in a panel discussion on February 6, 2024, revelations emerged about the opposition faced by the decision to engage in war against the British, led by Sir Garnet Wolseley.

Nana Afia Kobi, the Asantehemaa at that time, expressed reservations about the war, advising against it despite her son, Kofi Karikari, occupying the Golden Stool.

Discussing the role of women in Asante's war and diplomacy, Professor Eugenia Anderson, a historian at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), recounted Afia Kobi's stance.

On November 20, 1873, at an Asanteman Nhyiamu gathering, she reportedly said, "From olden times, it has been seen that God fights for Asante if war is just. This one is unjust."

Despite her counsel, the decision of the military general prevailed, leading to the 1874 Sagrenti War, resulting in a significant defeat for the Asantes.

The aftermath saw the dethronement of Kofi Karikari and the ascent of Mensa Bonsu, another son of the Asantehemaa.

Afia Kobi deemed the war against the British unjust, a sentiment supported by Prof. Samuel.