Will Does Not Determine Kristo Asafo Leadership -Lawyer

Lawyer Kwame Akuffo, counsel for six children of the late Apostle Emeritus Professor Ing. Kwadwo Safo, dismissed claims on Tuesday in Accra that the reading of the church founder's will automatically makes Israel Nana Kwadwo Safo, known as Akofena, the leader of the Kristo Asafo Mission. Mr. Akuffo maintained that the document contains no provision appointing, confirming, or declaring Akofena as the head of the church. He stated, "The will does not establish the leadership of the church. Leadership of the Kristo Asafo Mission is governed by the church's constitution, not by the testamentary wishes of the deceased."

Mr. Akuffo represents six of the late Apostle's children, including former Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo, and said his clients have instructed him to commence legal proceedings to seek a judicial interpretation of the constitutional provisions governing succession within the church. He explained that the will deals with the distribution of the late founder's estate but neither overrides nor amends the constitutional framework regulating the leadership. Mr. Akuffo further claimed that although Akofena had been identified by his father as a potential successor, subsequent events altered that arrangement, with the late Apostle later relieving Akofena of certain leadership responsibilities and amending the church's constitutional provisions on succession.