Ignore funeral posters of former Council of State member - Family of Benjamin Asonaba Dapaah to public

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.