Family members of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah, a former Council of State member and founding member of the NPP party, have urged the general public to disregard any posters that suggest the holding of final funeral rites for their dead relative.
In a press statement read by Akwasi Kumah, acting head of the family, it stated that the unanimous decision was taken by both the matrilineal and the patrilineal side of their late relative to call on the general public to disregard any such circulations.
According to him, even though their relative died in 2019, the family has not officially come out to announce the final funeral rites due to a pending court issue.
“The head of Asona family of Atwea, Yaw Opoku (currently in Italy), Obaapanin Akua Nfum, the only surviving sister of the late Asonaba’s mother, the entire Asona abusua as descendants of Ama Pokuaa and Yaa Yeboaah of Atwea and Agona Akrofonso, wish to state on record that no family member or elder of the family has engaged in any funeral preparation and to officially come out with the arrangements for the final funeral rites of our dead relative, the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah.
“We have seen some posters and billboards which seem to suggest that the final funeral rites of the Late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah, is to take place without the name of any family member in connection with the supposed arrangement. We are urging the general public to disregard such information since the family has not planned nor sanctioned any official communication on the funeral rites”, he disclosed.
He added that the family members have been shocked to see posters of their relative suggesting his final funeral despite an ongoing case over his death at the Appeals Court in Kumasi.
The final funeral rites of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah who died on 21st May, 2019 at the Charring Cross Hospital in London has since not been performed due to an alleged court issue.
According to explanation given by the spokesperson of the family, Mr. Akwasi Kumah, Madam Rosemary Dapaah, who happens to be the last wife of their dead relative and the youngest four children of the deceased, were in serious litigation with the immediate family (both paternal and maternal).
He said, the late Mr. Asonaba Dapaah was blessed with twelve children and all his children are alive. Out of this, the youngest four and their mother are currently litigating with the paternal and maternal families of the deceased and the eight elderly children.
In a related update on the dispute, Mr. Akwasi Kumah, disclosed that following the demise of Asonaba Dapaah in London, his youngest children seized the corpse upon its arrival at the Kotoka International Airport and to date, no family member and the eight eldest children have seen the corpse.
When all persuasion including an intervention by the queen mother of the Nsuta Ttaditional Aaea failed to compel Rosemary Dapaah and her children to return the body to the rightful family for planning and a befitting burial, the family proceeded to court for the return of the body.
In a turn of events, the court set up a committee of twelve members which comprised four family members of the deceased. Despite complaints filed by the family members on the conduct of the committee, the high court judge, Justice George Krofa Addae, later ordered for the burial of the corpse by the committee with specific orders on the date, venue for the laying-in-state, burial site and all arrangements to be guarded by the police.
The maternal and paternal family members, Elizabeth Dapaah who is the first wife and all eight eldest children were not involved in the burial process which took place in December 2020 on the orders of the court and against their family and Asante custom and tradition, he stated.
According to Mr. Akwasi Kumah, the same court subsequently on July 28, 2022 ordered the acting family head to pay some cost to the youngest children, of which the cost is related to the one week observance, the transportation of the corpse to Ghana and mortuary fees in Ghana. This is despite the fact that no money was paid directly to the head of the family.
The head of family has since appealed against the latest order which is pending before the Appeal Court in Kumasi, and due to that, no family member had planned or prepared to perform the funeral rites.
In separate interviews with Nana Afia Adwubi Kete II, paternal aunt of Asonaba Dapaah and queenmother of Nsuta-Anwanya, where the late Asonaba’s father was the Odikro, Eno Akua Mfum, Obaapanin and the only surviving sibling of Asonaba’s mother, and some of the eldes children, Esther Dapaah of Manchester in United Kingdom, Grace Dapaah of Hamburg Germany, Kwadwo Nketia Dapaah, bank manager and Emmanuel Kwabena Owusu Dapaah of London, they all collaborated fully the position and details given by the head of family Akwasi Kumah and called on loved ones and the general public to ignore the purported funeral rites.
The family has however assured the general public, the presidency, the NPP party, Nananom of Nsuta traditional council and all loved ones of its readiness to make the final funeral arrangements known in due to time.
Below is the press release….
PRESS RELEASE BY THE LEGITIMATE (IMMEDIATE) FAMILY, FIRST & SENIOR WIDOW AND THE SENIOR CHILDREN ON THE FUNERAL RITE OF THE LATE HON. BENJAMIN ASONABA DAPAAH (FORMER COUNCIL OF STATE MEMBER) AND THE ROLE OF THE COURT
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, good afternoon.
It is with deep pain and sadness that we have called this press conference to brief you on why the Head and the entire Asona Abusua of Yaa Boaduwaa (my great grandmother) of Atwea, Agona Akrofonso, Ejura and Yaa Yeboaa Fie of Atwea, the senior and eldest widow, Madam Elizabeth Dapaah, the eight senior children and all members of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah’s Paternal Family are yet to perform final funeral rites for the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah and the role of the court (judiciary) in this regard. This special engagement with the press has been called to give you some details and the credible chronology of the truthful events leading to the decisions of our family so as to adequately inform especially the Presidency, Nananom, Asanteman and the general public, home and abroad.
Foremost, we wish to emphatically state that it has never been our intention to dishonour our son, brother, uncle, grandfather, and above all our own blood. Asonaba Dapaah in his life was a very lovely person. He had a very peaceful and exemplary relationship with his entire family and all children. The immediate family also had wonderful relationship with the two surviving wives and all twelve children. However, the circumstances occasioned by the uncustomary and non-traditional actions of the 4th or last wife and her 4 children called for our decisions as the bereaved immediate family. We shall continue to mourn our cherished Asonaba Dapaah in the spirit of the family and in adherence and remembrance of our custom and ancestors.
Ladies and gentlemen, the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah (Former Family Head of Yaa Boaduwaa / Ama Pokuaa Fie) left Ghana on 16th April, 2019 for a scheduled medical check-up in New York, USA after visiting Atwea and informing his only living ‘mother’, Obaapanin Akua Mfum, about his journey. Obaapanin Akua Mfum is the only surviving sibling of the mother of the late Asonaba Daapaah. On 29th April, 2019 after his medical check-up in New York, the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah decided to visit his children in London on his return journey to Ghana. He however suffered a medical emergency on the flight and was thus admitted at the Charring Cross Hospital in London where he finally passed away on 21st May, 2019.
Ladies and gentlemen, the entire family of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah which included, the maternal and paternal family, the two widows and some of the twelve children or their representatives quickly met at Atwea and arranged for members of the immediate family and the children of the deceased to receive the body which was scheduled to arrive at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on 13th June 2019. It was later agreed upon request made by Yaw Owusu Dapaah, one of the four children of Rosemary Dapaah to use a military ambulance, instead of the original ambulance arranged by the immediate family, to receive and convey the body to Kumasi the same night. This he said was to assure protection during the journey in the night. The family then agreed to meet the children at KIA and together accompany the body the same night to the morgue in Kumasi.
Ladies and gentlemen, it will interest you to note that just after the body was received at the cargo section of KIA, the military team led by one of the younger children, then Captain Sarfo Kantanka Dapaah and his brother Yaw Owusu Dapaah (both are children of Madam Rosemary Dapaah) who were at the cargo collection point WHISKED out the casket with the body in the military ambulance and left behind all the immediate family members, from the maternal and paternal families, Mr Kwadwo Nketia Dapaah, an elder son, and some cousins of the deceased.
At the one-week celebration on 16th June 2019, which was three days after the arrival of the corpse, the children of Madam Rosemary Dapaah were summoned before the Odikro of Atwea and his elders to explain their actions. They pleaded for forgiveness and promised before the Odikro and elders of Atwea to deliver the body to the immediate family in a week’s time. Members of the media, after waiting for a couple of weeks without any sign of handing over the body, the family met again at Atwea to deliberate over the issue. Nana Adu Gyamfi Kesse, Tepa Akyempemhene and Mr Kwabena Oppong, both extended members of the family pleaded at the meeting that they should be allowed to impress upon the children to bring the body to its ‘customary home’ and to help facilitate a befitting burial for the late Asonaba Dapaah.
Ladies and gentlemen, to our surprise, Mr Kwabena Oppong and Nana Adu Gyamfi Kesse, later flew to Accra and to the Transition Funeral Home with the children to observe the body. They did this without the knowledge of the ‘bereaved mother’ nor any member of the immediate family. The family therefore lodged a complaint to the Queenmother of the Nsuta Traditional Area against Nana Adu Gyamfi Kesse, Mr Kwabena Oppong and Opanin Yaw Opoku, all members of the extended Asona family.
Ladies and gentlemen, while pursuing to resolve the impasse traditionally, it was subsequently realized that Madam Rosemary Dapaah, her four children, Nana Adu Gyamfi Kessse, and Kwabena Oppong had clandestinely arranged to visit the Presidency at the Jubilee House to announce a planned date for the burial and funeral rites for the late Asonaba Dapaah which they had then fixed for 19th October, 2019.
Upon hearing this, the immediate family sought audience with the Presidency through the Chief of Staff. We briefed the Honourable Chief of Staff on the fact that the delegation which visited the Presidency on the purported funeral fixed for 19th October 2019 for the late Asonaba Dapaah, was a delegation of the younger wife, her children and friends. It was indicated that, those who came and pretended as family members of the deceased were just extended family members who have no direct nor blood-relations (immediate family members) with the deceased nor descendants of Yaa Boaduwaa /Ama Pokuaa family of Atwea, which the late Asonaba Dapaah was the Head of Family.
We further indicated that the immediate family, the paternal family, first widow and eight out of the twelve children of the deceased have not met with the widow (Rosemary Dapaah) and her team or all the twelve children on any aspect concerning the burial and final funeral rites of the deceased.
Ladies and gentlemen, it was not our intention to take the matter to court. Nevertheless, since Rosemary Dapaah and her four children were seriously preparing to bury the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah without the immediate family (both paternal and maternal), the first wife and all the senior children, we had no option than to take the matter to court.
The media gathered here, at this point we would like to inform you that the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah had twelve (12) children and all of them are alive as we speak. He had eight (8) elderly children, some living in Ghana and others abroad. Indeed, the children of Rosemary, who together with their mother have brought all of us into this state of affairs, are the youngest. Two of the four (4) wives who married at different periods, the second and third, of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah have unfortunately passed away. May their souls rest in perfect peace. However, the first and most senior wife, Madam Elizabeth Dapaah, also known as ‘’Adwoa Broni’’ is still alive and lives here in Kumasi.
Ladies and gentlemen, the elder children hired a lawyer and joined the case as petitioners with the same pleadings of the immediate family (Plaintiffs). Shockingly however, the court ignored the original pleadings that made us (Plaintiffs) file the case in court. Instead, the court later set up a twelve (12) member committee to discuss the burial and funeral arrangements of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah. Only one immediate family member was included as a member of the committee set up by the court.
Ladies and gentlemen, it will interest you to note that, whilst the committee had started its work, the senior children were disjoined from the case by the then presiding judge, Justice Francis Obiri on grounds that ‘’someone suspected to be one of the elderly children” has sent an audio to insult Rev. Anthony Antwi of the Apostles Revelation Society (ARS), who was Co-chairman of the committee. Strangely, the court went further to remove the two representatives of the eight (8) children on the funeral committee and at the same sitting also ordered that five (5) out of the remaining ten (10) committee members can form a quorum to conduct meetings. The agenda then became very clear.
Friends of the media, we became frustrated and petitioned the Chief Justice to change the presiding judge on a number of critical issues and the petition was granted. Nevertheless, on 6th November, 2020; after the new judge had familiarized himself with the case, the court indicated it had found a document captioned “final committee report’’ purported to have been written by the entire committee. In the report were the following recommendations:
- That the late Benjamin Asonaba dapaah’s body be laid in state on 12th December, 2020.
- That, being a statesman, the body should be laid in state at the forecourt of Yaa Asantewaa lodge, Regional Co-ordinating Council, Kumasi.
- That, the burial service be performed at the forecourt of the Yaa Asantewaa lodge in accordance with state tradition and protocol.
- That, the body be buried at the private mausoleum of the deceased at Atwea- Ashanti.
- That the disputing parties can perform their separate funeral if they so wish since they seem not to be ready for any truce.
Ladies and gentlemen, to the shock of the immediate family the court, then presided by Justice George Krofa Addae upheld all the recommendations (except the fifth recommendation), made by a minority faction of the original committee and without involvement and signature of the immediate family member on the committee. The court thus pronounced on the 5th recommendation, that, the funeral celebration could be performed after the substantive case has been dealt with. Interesting! Isn’t it?
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, after several failed attempts by our lawyer to get the order reviewed, we filed an appeal and subsequently filed an application for STAY OF EXECUTION which was fixed to be heard on 9th December 2020. However, to our surprise, on the 6th December, 2020 we intercepted an order granted to the defendants and minority section of the committee by the same Judge, Justice George Krofa Addae on an EX-PARTY application which stated thus:
The Regional Police Commander of the Ashanti Region provides adequate or suitable number of policemen to protect the burial on the stated specific schedule as detailed above from the recommendations of the minority section of the committee.
The order further directed the management of Ebenezer Mortuary of Kumasi to release the body to one Nana Adu Gyamfi Kesse, Tepa Akyempimhene who is not an immediate family member of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah.
Ladies and gentlemen, it will interest you to note that throughout this case, the court presided by His Lordship Justice George Krofa Addae did not hear nor determine whether the plaintiffs were entitled to the relief, that is, return / release of the body to the immediate family which was the subject of the dispute. Despite several attempts and promptings from the plaintiff and his lawyers to tell the court that the purported report was fraudulent and that it was not a true report from the committee, the court was not interested. In fact, all the other members of the committee, Hon Kwabena Nsenkyire, then Ashanti Regional first Vice-Chairman of NPP, Hon Kwadwo Banahene Bediako, then Sekyere Central DCE, Nana Adwubi Kete II, Queen mother of Nsuta-Anwanya, Mr Emmanuel Anokye of Nsuta-Anwanya and myself, acting Head of Family signed separate affidavits to the court indicating that we were not aware of any meeting held to agree on a burial schedule, the report of which had been presented to the court. But Justice Krofa Addae ignored the submissions.
Friends of the media, our Lawyer became frustrated and withdrew from the case without moving the application for the Stay of execution which had been fixed for the 9th December, 2020.
Ladies and gentlemen, the immediate family held a meeting at Atwea later on 6th December 2020 with the family of the deceased’s father from Nsuta-Anwanya, maternal family at Agona Akrofonso, and Ejura, the Queen mother and elders of Atwea, First wife, Elizabeth Dapaah and representatives of the senior children of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah namely; Kwadwo Nketia Dapaah, Kwabena Owusu Dapaah, Esther Dapaah, Grace Dappah, James Dapaah, Monica Dapaah, Maame Pokuaa Dapaah and Afia Boatemaa Dapaah. After hours of discussions, the entire family, including the paternal and maternal family, the elder children, the first wife, the chiefs and Queen-mothers and elders of Atwea and Agona Akrofonso decided to stay away from the burial rites of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah which had been scheduled at a rather very short notice for 12th December, 2020 and more importantly without involvement of the immediate family. We, decided painfully so, as it was, because so far we have not received justice in Ghana’s court coupled with the gross disrespect Rosemary Dapaah and her four (4) children had shown the immediate family and the elders of Atwea, Agona Akrofonso, Anwanya and the Queen-mother of the Nsuta Traditional Area.
Friends of the press, after several failed requests for our witness statement, the court made an order to strike out the plaintiffs’ action for the ownership of the deceased body (the body had been buried anyway) and subsequently granted the defendants the right to prosecute their counterclaim against the plaintiff on 9th July, 2021.
Ladies and gentlemen, the defendants then filed their counterclaims seeking orders for the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs to be restrained from holding themselves out as Head of the Asona Family of Atwea and mother of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah respectively. Reliefs for cost and moneys which were never created and given to the plaintiffs respectively.
Friends of the media, it is very significant to note that, despite some earlier order made by the sitting judge, Justice George Krofa Addae (on the request of the immediate family) to join Opanin Yaw Opoku of Nsuta-Abaasua to the case as the 5th defendant and to defend the claim by the defendants (who are not family members of the deceased themselves, per akan customs and traditions) as Asona Abusuapanin, the said Opanin Yaw Opoku WAS NEVER MADE TO TESTIFY NOR BE CROSS-EXAMINED IN THE ENTIRE PROCEEDINGS up to the end of the trial, despite persistent demands by the Plaintiffs.
Nevertheless, at the end of the trial on 28th July 2022, the sitting judge, Justice George Krofa Addae, granted the defendants all their reliefs including those that were not even sought for in either their reliefs or pleadings.
Ladies and gentlemen, the family quickly held a meeting at Atwea with the deceased father’s family from Anwanya, maternal family at Agona Akrofonso, Ejura, and First wife (Elizabeth Dapaah) and representatives of the senior children of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah namely; Emmanuel Dapaah, Kwabena Owusu Dapaah, Esther Dapaah, Grace Dappah, James Dapaah, Monica Dapaah, Maame Pokuaa Dapaah and Afia Boatemaa Dapaah with a conclusive decision to appeal against the 28th July 2022 decision of the court.
Ladies and gentlemen, the family and for that matter the plaintiffs then filed an appeal against the order and subsequently moved a motion for the stay of execution on 12th September, 2022 which was granted by the same judge. This made the first order redundant until otherwise decide by the appeal court. Therefore, we are so surprised that the last wife of the deceased and her 4 children are bent on going ahead to perform the final funeral rite of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah without giving the due respect to the court order on 18th November, 2022 to stay out of execution from the 28th July,2022 ruling, which Stay of Execution is an order of the same court.
My dear friends, is it the case that the last child of Rosemary Dapaah and the last of the twelve children of the deceased, Diana Dapaah, is a Deputy Attorney General of our beloved country, Ghana, and therefore could override the order of a court given on 18th November 2022?
Concluding please permit me to ask the following questions:
- Were there problems between the last wife, Rosemary Dapaah, and the immediate family that we the immediate family did not realize until the demise of Asonaba Dapaah?
- Have there been problems or misunderstanding between Rosemary Dapaah and her children against the first wife and 8 elder children which never came to the notice of any immediate family member, even as close an immediate family member that Asonaba Dapaah was?
- What special interest does Rosemary Dapaah and her children have in the confiscation of the remains of Asonaba Dapaah from the immediate family to bury against custom and tradition?
- So far it is only the local broadcast system at Atwea that one of the children of Rosemary Dapaah has paid for announcement to be made that Opanin Yaw Opoku is holding the funeral for the late Asonaba Dapaah. Interestingly, from the monitoring done, Opanin Yaw Opoku’s name does not appear in any other publicity for the funeral such as, radio announcements, posters, invitation cards etc.
- Why has the supposed Abusuapanin Yaw Opoku, who is supposed to be organizing the funeral for the late Asonaba Dapaah, gone into hiding from his permanent and usual home in Nsuta-Abaasua (next town after Atwea), since the publication of the funeral? We the immediate family have made several attempts to engage Opanin Yaw Opoku for the past one week, even up to this morning, but he has vacated his home in Abaasua and he is not picking our calls.
- Is Rosemary Dapaah and her children being driven by a desire to sell off the funeral of our dear family member for funeral donations?
- Would Rosemary Dapaah and her children sincerely confirm that, how they have handled the deceased’s body and funeral management are consistent with the wishes of Asonaba Dapaah when he was alive?
Thank you all for coming, even at such short notice.
You are respectfully invited to ask any questions in relation to our story.
Attached documents:
- 28th july,2022 order by the High court
- Notice of Appeal
- Motion on notice for stay of execution pending appeal
- Order granting the stay of executing
SUMMARY OF CONTENT
- Arrival of the body at KIA and its subsequent confiscation using a military ambulance.
- Pleadings for forgiveness by the children of Rosemary Dapaah and promise to return the remains before traditional authorities.
- Suit filed by the immediate family for the release of the body and the developments in the court.
- Burial of the late Asonaba Dapaah without the immediate family.
- The supposed Abusuapanin for the publicized funeral has gone into hiding. Journalists should try to locate him for the immediate family
Issued and signed on behalf of the late Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah’s family by
- Matthew Akwasi Kumah (Acting Head of Family)
- Nana Adwubi Kete II (Paternal aunt of the deceased, Queen–mother of Nsuta-Anwanya)
- Grace Dapaah (Daughter of the Deceased)