By ISSAH OLEGOR
The bitter dispute surrounding the funeral of the late Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo Kantanka escalated into unprecedented drama on Thursday after mourners, family members and sympathisers gathered at Gomoa Mpota in the Central Region for the late religious leader’s burial despite an Accra High Court order restraining the funeral from proceeding.
In a dramatic twist that has intensified one of Ghana’s most public family feuds, the Ghana Police Service intercepted and detained the official Kantanka-branded hearse carrying Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s mortal remains from the Transitions Funeral Home, enforcing a 10-day interim injunction obtained by the Kristo Asafo Mission and members of the wider Kantanka Family.
Despite the police intervention and the court order, funeral activities continued at Gomoa Mpota where thousands of mourners, traditional leaders, church members and invited guests had already assembled for what organisers insisted would be a befitting farewell for the revered founder of the Kristo Asafo Mission.
The unfolding events have transformed what was expected to be a solemn state-like funeral into a complex legal, family and security crisis, with the courts, police and rival family factions now at the centre of determining how one of the most celebrated inventors and religious leaders will finally be laid to rest.
Court Halts Burial Plans
The latest development follows an order by the Accra High Court granting a 10-day interim injunction restraining former Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo from proceeding with the funeral and burial arrangements of her late father.
The application was filed on behalf of the Kristo Asafo Mission and other members of the Kantanka Family who are challenging the authority under which the funeral was organised.
The applicants contend that the burial should not proceed until the court determines the substantive dispute over Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s Last Will and Testament, the custody of his mortal remains and who possesses the legal authority to execute his final wishes.
The injunction temporarily freezes the independently organised funeral programme while the court considers the competing claims between the rival family factions.
Police Stop Hearse at Funeral Home
Shortly after the injunction became public, police officers reportedly moved to the Transitions Funeral Home where Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s body had been preserved.
Law enforcement officers intercepted the official Kantanka-branded hearse before it could leave the mortuary for Gomoa Mpota.
The hearse was subsequently detained by police in what appeared to be a direct enforcement of the High Court order.
The intervention effectively prevented the transportation of the late Apostle’s body to the funeral grounds.
The action by the police marked the first visible enforcement of the court’s injunction and heightened tension among mourners and supporters gathered both at the mortuary and at the funeral venue.
Funeral Grounds Remain Active
Despite the court injunction and the detention of the hearse, organisers continued preparations at Gomoa Mpota.
Eyewitness accounts indicated that large crowds already converged on the venue long before news of the police action spread.
Family members aligned with Sarah Adwoa Safo, sympathisers, Kristo Asafo members and invited guests continued arriving throughout the morning.
Sarah Adwoa Safo and her mother, Ohemaa Awuraa Ama Badu, were arrived at the venue as preparations continued.
Organisers reportedly maintained that extensive planning, financial commitments and logistical arrangements had reached an advanced stage, making it impossible to suspend the funeral at the last minute.
They further argued that invitations had already been extended to senior political leaders, traditional rulers, diplomats and international guests.
Adwoa Safo Maintains Funeral Should Proceed
Before the injunction was granted, Sarah Adwoa Safo had consistently maintained that the funeral would proceed as scheduled.
She stated in media interviews that the burial dates had been approved following consultations with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
According to her, the funeral arrangements had gone through the appropriate traditional processes and had received the blessing of the Manhyia Palace.
Her representatives reportedly maintained on the funeral grounds that either they had not been formally served with the court order or that the funeral programme would continue despite the legal challenge.
Those claims have not been independently verified by the court.
Dummy Coffin Allegations Fuel Speculation
As police maintained custody of the official hearse and the late Apostle’s body reportedly remained at the funeral home, fresh controversy emerged from the funeral grounds.
Family Secretary Dr. Phillip Siaw Kissi publicly alleged that Sarah Adwoa Safo intended to use a “dummy body” or substitute coffin during the public funeral ceremony.
Following those allegations, eyewitness videos circulating on social media reportedly showed a pickup truck arriving at the funeral grounds carrying a coffin whose contents could not be independently verified.
The development immediately sparked widespread speculation among mourners and on social media over whether an empty casket or symbolic coffin was being used following the police seizure of the official hearse.
However, there has been no independent confirmation that the coffin transported to the venue contained a substitute body, and the claim remains an allegation made by one faction in the dispute.
Long-Running Family Feud
The latest confrontation is the culmination of months of disagreements within the Kantanka Family following Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s death in September 2025.
The dispute centres on the interpretation of his Last Will and Testament, succession to his estate, custody of his mortal remains and the authority to organise his funeral.
Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena, Head of the Kantanka Family and Leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission, has consistently argued that the Will designates him as the person responsible for implementing his father’s final wishes, including burial arrangements.
He has accused Sarah Adwoa Safo of failing to implement the provisions of the Will and has insisted that the wider family was denied custody of the late Apostle’s remains.
Sarah Adwoa Safo has rejected those assertions, insisting that she was entrusted with responsibilities by her father before his death and has spent months organising what she describes as a befitting farewell.
She has also disclosed that she personally spent approximately GH¢3.7 million on funeral preparations, including morgue fees and logistical arrangements.
Mission Directs Members to Stay Away
Following the court’s intervention, the Kristo Asafo Mission issued a directive asking members not to participate in the funeral programme announced by Sarah Adwoa Safo.
According to the Mission, no official funeral had been approved for July 30 and discussions regarding the final burial arrangements were still ongoing.
Church leaders urged members to respect the court process and await official communication from the recognised leadership of the Mission.
Contempt Proceedings Loom
Lawyers representing the Kristo Asafo Mission have warned that any individual who proceeds with funeral activities in violation of the court’s injunction could face contempt of court proceedings.
