The final funeral rites of the longest-serving queen mother of the Ashanti Kingdom, Nana Afia Serwaa Kobi Ampem, has commenced at the Manhyia Palace, Monday.
The 4-day ceremony which started at midnight on Sunday includes the performance of a number of rituals at the Manhyia Palace, the seat of the Asantehene, before her interment on Thursday.
The queen mother’s body is expected to lie in state at the Manhyia Palace until burial on Thursday.
Today, Monday, January 16, all the Chiefs in the Asante Kingdom will file past the body of the queen mother to pay their last respect until 11 am.
After 11 am, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will file past his mother’s body after which he will receive commiserations from sympathisers.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Kings and Chiefs outside the Asante Kingdom are expected to file past the body of the queen mother.
The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, the former Presidents, Ministers, Government officials and other dignitaries are also scheduled to file past the queen mother’s body on Tuesday.
Dignitaries from Swaziland, Seychelles, Là Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and other countries are also expected to file past the queen mother on Wednesday.
At 11:00 am on Thursday, the queen mother’s body will be taken to St. Cyprians Anglican Church for a Burial Mass.
Only accredited person will be allowed in the Church Auditorium.
A giant screen mounted at Jubilee Park will display events at the church auditorium for the general public.
After the church ceremony, the queen mother’s body will be marched through designated streets to Bantama for a wreath-laying ceremony.
The body will then be taken to Breman for burial.
Meanwhile, the Manhyia Palace has directed inhabitants of Kumasi and its environs to stay indoors especially on the night of Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday.
However, a statement signed by the Asantehene’s Chief of Staff, Kofi Badu, utility and essential service providers – the Electricity Company of Ghana, the Ghana Water Company and personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service – are exempt.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s mother passed away at her palace in November last year.
She passed away at the age of 109 years.
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