Asanteman Mourns: Asantehemaa’s Prayers Have Been a Source of Strength for Me – Bawumia
Former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has expressed his condolences following the death of Asantehemaa Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, describing her as a national mother and a unifying figure in Ghanaian society.
In a statement shared on social media, he joined Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asanteman Council, and the people of Asanteman in mourning the Queen’s passing.
He reflected on her reign as “an enduring symbol of unity, grace, and candour” and highlighted her compassion and open-heartedness.
According to the former Vice President, the Asantehemaa’s words of encouragement, wise counsel, and prayers were a source of personal strength for him during his public life.
“Her sense of compassion and open arms received many, of whom I am proud to have been part. Her words of encouragement and counsel just as her prayers have been a source of strength for me.”
He said her death represented a loss for the entire country, noting, “We have lost a mother, not just the queen mother.”
Asantehemaa passed away on August 7, 2025.
One-week observation
The Manhyia Palace has scheduled Thursday, August 21, 2025, for the one-week observation of the late Nana Konadu Yiadom III, the Asantehemaa and sister of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
The date was confirmed by the Asantehene on August 11, 2025, during a meeting of the Asanteman Council, where chiefs and elders were formally informed of her passing.
About Asantehemaa
Born in 1927 at the Benyaade Shrine in Meredane, a small town in Kwadaso, Kumasi, Nana Konadu Yiadom III was the first daughter of Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II and Opanin Kofi Fofie. Entrusted to her aunt, Nana Afia Konadu, while still an infant, she grew up in Ashanti New Town, Kumasi, receiving a rich informal education that instilled discipline, cultural knowledge, and life skills.
As a teenager, she underwent traditional puberty rites alongside her niece, Nana Abena Ansa, and later married Opanin Kwame Boateng, a blacksmith from Aduman in Kumasi. She was known for her humility, compassion, and sense of fairness, traits that earned her respect across Asanteman.
In the mid-1990s, a prophecy foretold her future as Queen, a prediction fulfilled when she ascended the Nyarko Kusiamoah and Konadu Yiadom Stool on February 6, 2017, becoming the fourteenth Asantehemaa.
Her reign was marked by advocacy for maternal health, promotion of breastfeeding, and support for hospitals, as well as initiatives to preserve peace and unity in the Kingdom.
Story by Adwoa S. Danso
