2 church members seek to block installation of Apostle Safo’s successor

• Two senior members of the Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana have gone to the High Court to challenge the planned installation of Israel Kwadwo Safo as church leader.

• The plaintiffs argue that the succession process violates the church’s 2017 constitution and its 2024 amendments governing leadership transition.

• The case comes months after the death of Apostle Kwadwo Safo, founder of Kristo Asafo and the Kantanka Group, with the court yet to set a hearing date.

A major leadership dispute has broken out within the Kristo Asafo Mission in the aftermath of the death of its founder, Apostle Kwadwo Safo, with the matter now before the High Court in Accra.

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2 senior church members have filed a lawsuit to stop the planned installation of Israel Kwadwo Safo, also known as Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena, as the new leader of the church.

The suit was filed on June 19 at the General Jurisdiction Division of the High Court.

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The plaintiffs are Kweku Agyenim Boateng, a former Deputy General Secretary of the church, and Seth Appiah Richard Brown, a longtime member and former executive assistant to the church leader.

They argue that the process being used to choose the next leader goes against the church’s constitution.

According to court documents, the Kristo Asafo Mission is governed by a constitution first introduced in 2017 and later amended in 2024. The two plaintiffs insist that these rules must be followed strictly in selecting a new leader.

They claim that although Apostle Kwadwo Safo had earlier named Israel Kwadwo Safo as his successor under an older arrangement, changes made to the church’s constitution in 2024 altered the succession process.

Because of that, they argue Israel Kwadwo Safo no longer qualifies to lead the church.

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The two members are asking the court to stop any ceremony or public declaration that presents him as the church’s new head.

They say any such installation would be unlawful and could create division within the church.

The plaintiffs are therefore seeking a court order to block his installation and to compel the church to follow the constitutional rules on succession.

The High Court is also yet to set a date for hearing the case.

The dispute comes at a sensitive time for the church, as preparations continue for the final funeral rites of Apostle Kwadwo Safo, one of Ghana’s most respected religious leaders, inventors and industrialists.

Apostle Safo, founder of the Kristo Asafo Mission and the Kantanka Group, died in September 2025. He was widely known for promoting indigenous technology and manufacturing in Ghana through the Kantanka brand.

His contributions went beyond religion into engineering, agriculture, education and automobile manufacturing, earning him national recognition as a pioneer of local industrialisation.

His final funeral rites are scheduled for July 30 and 31, 2026.