The burial of the late Overseer of the Kristo Asafo Mission, Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, has hit a legal roadblock as family members say they will seek an injunction to halt any funeral arrangements not sanctioned by the entire family and the church.
At a press conference held at the late pastor’s residence in Taifa on Sunday, the Kantanka family, represented by Israel Kwadwo Akonfena Safo Kantanka, announced that lawyers have been instructed to place an injunction on any planned burial and funeral rites for the late Apostle.
“So long as the entire family and the church are not part of the funeral arrangements, no such event can proceed in connection with the departed pastor,” Akonfena stated.
He urged the media and the general public to “disregard any such proposed announcement and date emanating from any source or person.”
“A Matter For Family, Church, and Custom”
According to Akonfena, tradition demands that the children, the church, the entire family, the clan and the stool meet to agree on a date and modalities for the funeral.
“In matters of this nature, the children, the church, the entire family will meet and agree to set a date to undertake such an event collectively,” he said.
He revealed that several meetings had been held to reach an amicable settlement, but efforts collapsed due to what he described as “the intransigence of an interested party in the funeral celebration.”
The family did not name the person directly, but Akonfena referenced “their big sister” as the one taking “an entrenched stance making matters extremely difficult to resolve.”
Dispute Over Will and Location of Body
A major point of contention, the family says, is the alleged disregard for the late Apostle’s wishes.
“The late Apostle wrote down how he should be treated when he passed on in a will, but alas, someone wants to turn things around,” Akonfena said. “The will Papa left makes things explicitly clear but someone is twisting the wishes of the deceased for her parochial personal interest against the laid down rules.”
He also raised concerns about the whereabouts of the body, 11 months after the Apostle’s passing.
“It pains me that after 11 months of his demise I have not set my eyes on the corpse. Nobody knows where the body is!” he lamented.
“I am hearing that my sister wants to hide everything from us and do a private funeral at Transition but no way. She has gone round inviting people without our input and participation and this is against tradition and values in custom.”
“We Do Not Want Public Spats”
Akonfena said the family had hoped to resolve the matter quietly, but was left with no choice.
“Calling for press conferences and social media commentary shouldn’t have been the order of the day but misunderstanding and disregard for mutual respect have culminated in this distasteful situation that is negatively impacting on the family’s image,” he said.
“I am so appalled and troubled to engage in this unfortunate exercise, but here we are.”
He added that the Kantanka family, church leaders, and traditional authorities have all agreed to come together to give the late Apostle a befitting burial “as tradition and custom demand.”
Legal Action Next
The family says the next step is the courts.
“I have therefore instructed my lawyer to take up the matter and seek reliefs and injunction to resolve the bottlenecks to pave the way for a befitting funeral for the late venerable pastor,” Akonfena announced.
Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, founder and overseer of the Kristo Asafo Mission, passed away 11 months ago. He was a renowned inventor, industrialist and spiritual leader with a global following.
As of press time, there has been no official response from the other faction of the family regarding the allegations.
