BY Daniel Bampoe
A fresh leadership dispute has erupted within the Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana following a legal intervention by former Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, who is challenging the eligibility of her brother, Kwadwo Safo Akofena (Israel Kwadwo Safo), to succeed their late father, Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, as leader of the church.
Lawyer Kwame Akuffo, counsel for six children of the late Apostle Kwadwo Safo, rejected claims that the reading of the founder’s will automatically establishes Israel Nana Kwadwo Safo, popularly known as Akofena, as the leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, a day after the reading of the late founder’s will, Akuffo argued that the will contains no provision appointing, confirming or anointing any individual as the head of the church.
According to him, assertions that the will settles the succession of the Kristo Asafo Mission are legally and constitutionally misplaced.
“The will does not establish the leadership of the church.
Leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission is governed by the church’s constitution, not by the testamentary wishes of the deceased,” he told journalists.
Representing six of the late Apostle’s children, including former Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo, Lawyer Akuffo disclosed that his clients have instructed him to initiate legal proceedings to obtain a definitive interpretation of the church’s constitutional provisions governing succession.
He maintained that while the will deals with the distribution of the late founder’s estate, it does not override or amend the constitutional framework regulating the leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission.
Akuffo further argued that although Akofena had previously been identified by his father as a potential successor, subsequent developments allegedly changed that position.
He claimed that the late Apostle later removed Akofena from leadership responsibilities within parts of the Kristo Asafo organisation and amended the church’s constitutional succession arrangements.
According to the lawyer, those constitutional amendments, rather than the contents of the will, should determine who is qualified to lead the church.
He questioned the legal basis upon which anyone could rely solely on the will to claim the leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission if the church’s constitution provides otherwise.
The lawyers from Messrs. Kwame Akuffo & Co., have also written to the Acting Chairman of the Council of Elders, Dr. Kwadwo Addo Oduro, and the General Secretary of the church, insisting that the church’s constitution expressly bars Kwadwo Safo Akofena from ascending to the leadership following amendments made before the death of the church’s founder.
According to the legal correspondence, the current disagreement over the succession risks undermining the unity of the Kristo Asafo Mission, contrary to provisions of the church’s constitution, which requires that the appointment of a new leader be free from disputes, factionalism, politics and influence peddling.
The lawyers drew attention to Article 26(1)(h) of the church’s constitution, which provides that the appointment of a successor “shall be devoid of disputes, disunity, politics, influence peddling, factional interest and controversy.”
They further cited Article 26(1)(i), which prescribes automatic dismissal for any church member, pastor, elder or officer found engaging in politics or influence peddling in the leadership selection process.
The letter explains that although the church’s constitution originally designated Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena as the successor under Article 12(2)(a), that provision was repealed through the Kristo Asafo Mission Constitution (Amendment), 2024, while Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka was still alive.
According to the lawyers, the amendment explicitly revoked and cancelled the earlier appointment of Kwadwo Safo Akofena as the next leader and removed the constitutional protection that had previously insulated his appointment from the succession provisions contained in Articles 25 and 26 of the church’s constitution.
They argue that because the constitutional amendment came into force before the founder’s death, Kwadwo Safo Akofena ceased to be an eligible candidate for the leadership position and therefore cannot lawfully be considered during the ongoing succession process.
The lawyers further contend that any consultation by the Council of Elders that includes Kwadwo Safo Akofena would compromise the constitutional process and render the selection exercise fundamentally defective.
The legal team stated that their clients are determined to ensure that the late founder’s final constitutional directives are respected, insisting that compliance with the amended constitution represents the fulfilment of her father’s wishes.
The letter concludes by warning that if the constitutional provisions are disregarded, Adwoa Safo is prepared to take the necessary steps to enforce compliance with what her lawyers describe as the late church leader’s “dying wishes,” which they argue prevented Kwadwo Safo Akofena from succeeding him.
The succession dispute follows the death of Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, founder and spiritual leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission and inventor of the Kantanka automobile brand. His passing has triggered competing interpretations of the church’s constitutional provisions governing succession, setting the stage for what could become a significant legal and ecclesiastical battle over the future leadership of one of the prominent religious movements.
