Nutrition
Grief turns outrage over postponement of Tafo Hemaa’s burial
The body of a revered royal matriarch lies in a morgue not because her family cannot bury her; but because they are being frustrated to do so.
In Old Tafo, Kumasi, grief is now turning into outrage as the family of the late Nana Afia Sarpong faces what they described as an unjust blockade by the local Chief, Nana Agyen Frimpong II, the Tafohene.
The family fears a repeat of the painful ordeal that once saw 21 royal corpses left unburied for 17 years, until the intervention of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
“We buried our pain for 17 years once. We cannot do it again,” said Kwaku Arhin, family spokesperson, adding that, “We followed tradition. We did everything required. Yet, we are being punished again.”
Once again, they are calling on Otumfuo to intervene to give their beloved relative a peaceful burial.
Shadows of the past
Nana Afia Sarpong, affectionately called Nana Hemaa, passed away on May 21, 2025. After performing her one-week celebration on June 5, her family, following all traditional procedures, scheduled her burial for July 2. Customary drinks were presented, drums were played, and stool elders were present.
But just days before the burial, the Tafohene reportedly told police he had not been informed of the ceremony, for which it was cancelled.
Demand for poster
According to Mr Kwaku Arhin, the family spokesperson, the Tafohene has refused to allow burial at the royal mausoleum unless the family produces a funeral poster bearing the name of one Yaa Apiaa, his chosen candidate as queen mother.
But the family insists such a demand was unprecedented and unacceptable because the woman in question was under Ntamkeseɛ—the Great Oath of Asanteman; rendering her unqualified for the role.
“How can a funeral poster become a tool of spiritual endorsement?” Arhin asked. “This is not custom. This is coercion.”
Funeral deferment
For the past two decades, the family says they have only laid their dead in state without organising proper funerals because the Tafohene was yet to perform the rites for his own predecessors, as custom demands.
“No full royal funeral has been held in 25 years,” Arhin stated, adding that “This omission has robbed the entire family of its dignity and tradition.”
Following the impasse, the burial was postponed first to July 16 then to July 23 and now to August 20. The family have incurred financial losses, including travel costs for mourners from abroad.
He said despite meetings with local police and municipal officials, the chief’s stance remains unchanged.
A plea for peace, justice
The Tafo Agona royal family is now appealing to Otumfuo to intervene, as he did in 2022 to prevent another drawn-out morgue crisis.
“This is not rebellion,” Arhin said. “We are simply pleading for our mother to be buried with dignity.”
As Nana Afia Sarpong’s body remains unburied, her portrait rests under a canopy of dust-covered chairs—reminders of a funeral that never happened. “She was a woman of peace,” Arhin said. “She deserves peace in death.”
About 12 royals signed the petition to the Asantehene.
They included: Nana Osei Jantuah, Opanin Yaw Boateng – Tafo royals, Godfred Amoako, Kofi Adusei – sons of the deceased; Gifty Nyamedo, Victoria Amoako– Daughters of the deceased and Kwasi Amoako Dwamena – Widower.
The Spectator reached out to the office of Nana Agyen Frimpong II, the Tafohene, for a response but was unsuccessful as of press time.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
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Ghana has nutrition policies. Ghana has nutrition targets. Ghana has nutrition programmes spread across multiple ministries and dozens of implementing partners.
What Ghana does not have is a single, empowered body responsible for leading, coordinating, and holding all this together. That is the gap a National Nutrition Council would fill, and stakeholders are calling for one now.
The case for a council
At a stakeholder engagement convened under the Nourish Ghana project in 2025, participants proposed the establishment of a National Nutrition Council to provide effective leadership and a governance framework for addressing malnutrition in Ghana. The meeting, which brought together policymakers, development partners, civil society organisations, and the media, highlighted a fundamental problem: nutrition responsibilities are fragmented across various ministries. Without a dedicated coordination body, efforts are duplicated, accountability is diffuse, and nutrition consistently loses out when budgets are tight.
The proposal echoes a model used in several countries that have made the fastest progress against malnutrition. Nigeria’s National Council on Nutrition, for example, recently pledged $107 million at the 2025 N4G Summit, a level of coordinated ambition that Ghana has struggled to match.
Ghana does have existing coordination structures worth acknowledging. The Scaling Up Nutrition Cross-Sectoral Planning Group (CSPG), established in 2012, was set up to harmonise planning, implementation, and monitoring of nutrition actions across sectors. It has produced real gains. But the challenge has been institutionalising those gains beyond project cycles, and analysts have called for an elevated national coordination body with presidential oversight to ensure genuine cross-sector accountability. A National Nutrition Council would go further, providing the dedicated financing and convening authority that the CSPG, as currently structured, does not have.
What a Council would do
A National Nutrition Council would provide political oversight and coordination across all sectors involved in nutrition, health, agriculture, education, social protection, and finance. It would track Ghana’s nutrition commitments, hold ministries accountable for delivery, and ensure that nutrition budgets are protected and spent effectively. Most importantly, it would give nutrition a permanent seat at the table where national development decisions are made.
The Time Is Now
Ghana made 10 commitments at the 2025 N4G Paris Summit. Translating those commitments into results requires a governance structure that does not currently exist. Establishing a National Nutrition Council is not a bureaucratic exercise. It is the institutional foundation without which Ghana’s nutrition ambitions will remain promises on paper. Leaders must act on this proposal without delay.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project
