Kristo Asafo Mission clarifies Akofena’s role after confusion over Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s will

Dorcas Agambila 14:05 - 07 July 2026

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Israel Sarfo (left) and Sarah Adwoa Safo (right)

The Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana has moved to clarify the contents of the late Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka’s will, stating that his son, Kwadwo Safo Akofena, was appointed head of the Kantanka family and not directly named as the leader of the church.

The Kristo Asafo Mission has clarified that Akofena was not directly named as the church’s leader in Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka’s will, but was appointed head of the Kantanka family.
The church’s lawyer, Nana Kofi Safo Kantanka, explained that Apostle Safo separated family leadership from church authority, noting that the church’s council of elders has a process for selecting its next leader.
The clarification follows confusion over the succession dispute involving Akofena and Sarah Adwoa Safo, with Osebo the Zaraman later retracting his earlier claim that Akofena had been named sole successor.

The clarification follows the official reading of Apostle Safo’s will at the Accra High Court on Monday, July 7, 2026, which provided new details amid a growing succession dispute involving Akofena, also known as Israel Nana Kwadwo Safo, and his sister Sarah Adwoa Safo, the former Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya.

Speaking in an interview with UTV Ghana on Tuesday, the church’s lawyer, Nana Kofi Safo Kantanka, explained that the document made a clear distinction between family authority and the leadership structure of the Kristo Asafo Mission.

He stated;

The will did not specifically name him as the leader of the church. The will named him as the head of the Kantanka family, the paternal family. He was the one named by their father as the person all his siblings should look up to as their father and head of the family, and they were instructed to give him the respect due to him as a father. That was what clearly appeared in the will

The lawyer further explained that Apostle Safo intentionally separated his responsibilities as a father from his role as founder of the church, arguing that the late spiritual leader would have clearly stated so if he intended to appoint Akofena as church head.

He added;

Apostle Safo knew he had a family as well as a church. If he wanted to name Akofena as the head of the church, he would have stated that clearly. Instead, he specifically named him as the head of the family. The church has a council of elders, and that council has a process for selecting the next leader of the church

The clarification comes after businessman and Kristo Asafo member Richard Brown, popularly known as Osebo the Zaraman, initially stated that Akofena had been named as the successor to Apostle Safo before later withdrawing the claim and admitting that he had misunderstood parts of the will.

The succession debate has attracted public attention in recent weeks, with tensions emerging even before the will was officially read. Earlier, the Kristo Asafo Mission had installed Akofena as its next leader in a ceremony that was interrupted after Sarah Adwoa Safo arrived at her brother’s residence in Dome-Kwabenya.

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