Residents in the Greater Kumasi metropolis have been advised by the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) to adhere to instructions from Manhyia palace while the late Queenmother Nana Konadu Yiadom III is being laid to rest today.
According to a press statement signed by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, essential government employees are obliged to wear their prescribed uniforms and hold authentic Identification Cards.
The workers have also been required to travel to and from their offices in official government vehicles.
“All exempted institutions and essential workers are advised to cooperate fully with security personnel and other regulatory agencies enforcing the movement restrictions,” portions of the statement noted.
The final funeral rites for the late Asantehemaa, Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, commenced on Monday, September 15, in Kumasi and will span four days, climaxing today, Thursday, September 18.
The funeral committee announced that as part of tradition to honor the Queen Mother, residents are to remain indoors in the evening when the procession moves from Bantama to Breman. Shops, schools, banks, markets, and offices will also shut down for the day.
“On Thursday, as we bid a final farewell to the Queen Mother, we wish to give this important notice. The procession will move from Bantama to Breman, and we humbly ask everyone to remain indoors in the evening. In the past, when events involving the King took place, people would stand in respect even in the afternoon. In this case, since it will be held in the evening, we ask simply that you stay in your homes.”
“With utmost humility, we remind all that Thursday is the funeral of the Asantehemaa. On that day, shops are to remain closed. Schools, banks, and offices will also be closed in observance of the occasion,” the committee announced at a press briefing.
The committee also outlined the schedule for paying homage. Religious groups, political parties, and corporate bodies are expected to pay their respects on Monday; the judiciary, security agencies, and financial institutions on Tuesday; traditional leaders, ministers of state, diplomats, parliamentarians, and MMDCEs on Wednesday; and the President, former Presidents, and former Vice Presidents on Thursday.
Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III’s passing has drawn nationwide mourning and reflection on her reign as Queen Mother of Asanteman.
She passed away at age 98 occupying her position as the 14th Queen of the Asante Kingdom,
She died at nearly 100 years old. Her passing was announced on August 11 at an emergency sitting of the Asanteman Traditional Council, which was presided over by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
On August 21, a one-week observation was held at the forecourt of the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi for the late Queen Mother.
It followed a display of traditional Asante customs, with chiefs, queen mothers, and government officials.
On Wednesday August 13, the Archbishop of Kumasi, Most Rev. Gabriel Justice Anokye, led a delegation to the Manhyia Palace to pray for the Asantehene and to express their condolences to the King, after the demise of the Asantehemaa.
They also visited the late Ohemaa’s court to formally convey their sympathies to the family and offer prayers as well.
Profile of Asantehemaa Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III
Asantehemaa was named Nana Ama Konadu at birth and is also known by all as Nana Panin or Naa Panin. She later became Nana Konadu Yiadom III, after her enstoolment as the 14th Asantehemaa on February 6, 2016.
She was born in 1927 at Benyaade Shrine at Merdan, a small town located at Kwadaso, Kumasi, in the days of the restoration of the Asante Confederacy.
She was born to Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa, who reigned from 1977 to 2016. Her father was known as Opanin Kofi Fofie, known popularly as Koofie or Keewuo, a carpenter by profession from Besease near Atimatim in Kumasi.
At a very tender age, just when she was a little over a year old and being breastfed, Nana Konadu Yiadom III, Asantehemaa, was separated from her biological mother and given to her aunt (mother’s sister), Nana Afia Konadu, at Ashanti New Town (Ash-Town), a suburb of Kumasi.
Nanahemaa never had any formal education, but she underwent a rigorous and quality informal education, learning a lot of things that were not taught in the classroom.
She was initiated and underwent puberty rites together with her niece, Nana Abena Ansa, in their early teens. She married Opanin Kwame Boateng, a blacksmith by profession from Aduman in Kumasi.
She was religious, kindhearted, calm, fair and firm, hardworking, very humble, unassuming, and accommodating. In the mid-1990s, Kwaku Firi Bosomfo, the priest of Kwaku Firi, prophesied through Baffour Akoto, a Senior Linguist of Asantehene, that Nanahemaa would be Queen of Asante someday, and surely, it came to pass.
Nanahemaa achieved a lot and has been recognized as such. Through her constant generosity in doing God’s work, the Saviour Church named a school after her, Nana Konadu Saviour School. She exhibited a high level of equity, justice, and fairness, and all cases brought before her have been settled amicably to the satisfaction of both parties involved.
In celebrating her 5th Anniversary as Asantehemaa, she made a huge donation to the mothers at the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU), Pediatric Emergency Care Unit (PICU) and Pediatric Emergency Unit (PEU) and paid for all the medical bills and expenses for new mothers at the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU) at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Manhyia Government District Hospital.
Nanahemaa started a vigorous campaign and instituted an annual event to encourage mothers to breastfeed their young ones, the main reason why she made a generous donation to the Mother-Baby Unit at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Manhyia Government District Hospital.
