BY Grace Zigah
The long-running dispute over the funeral arrangements of the iconic highlife legend, Charles Kwadwo Fosu, popularly known as Daddy Lumba, has taken a decisive turn after the Manhyia Palace ordered the immediate dissolution of the funeral committee and directed that a second autopsy be conducted before any burial takes place.
The decision was issued on Monday, 10 November 2025, after a tense third hearing between the musician’s divided family factions.
Daddy Lumba, who died on 26 July 2025 at the age of 60, left behind a legacy of unmatched influence in Ghana’s highlife music—but his passing also exposed deep rifts within his family.
Since July, two major factions have been embroiled in a public dispute over who has the authority to supervise his funeral.
On one side is his elder sister, Ernestina Fosu also known as Akosua Brimpoma, and his first wife, Akosua Serwaa; on the other is the family head, Abusuapanin Kofi Owusu, working alongside the late musician’s second wife, Odo Broni.
Tension escalated when Akosua Serwaa alleged that she was intentionally sidelined from key funeral committee meetings and only learned of the planned funeral—set for 6 December 2025—through social media posts.
Together with Ernestina, she filed an interlocutory injunction to restrain the family head, Odo Broni, and Transitions Funeral Home from proceeding with the burial.
Their petition also demanded a fresh autopsy to clarify long-standing questions about the circumstances of Daddy Lumba’s death.
However, on 28 October 2025, the Kumasi High Court dismissed the injunction and allowed the family head to proceed with the funeral preparations.
That ruling prompted an extraordinary move from Ernestina, who invoked Otumfuo’s Great Oath—a rare and powerful traditional plea that compels the Asantehene to intervene in serious family conflicts.
The invocation automatically halted the funeral process and shifted the matter from the courtroom to Manhyia Palace, the ultimate seat of arbitration.
Over the following weeks, sub-chiefs and linguists of the Ashanti Kingdom presided over hearings involving both factions.
The third and final appearance on 10 November brought Ernestina, the family head, and other principal elders together in a closed-door sitting attended by influential palace authorities, including Baffour Kantankrakye, the linguist of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Nananom have dissolved the initial committee setup by the Abusuapanin and delegated Nana Dadiesoba Hene to take charge and set up a new committee to handle the funeral.
The traditional council ruled in favour of Ernestina’s petition. The Palace announced that the existing funeral committee was dissolved with immediate effect and that the December 6 burial date was suspended indefinitely.
The Palace also granted permission for a second autopsy to be conducted, a key demand of the late musician’s sister and first wife and postponement of the funeral rites to December 13, 2025.
