Manhyia Palace has rescheduled the final funeral rites for legendary highlife musician Charles Kwadwo Fosu, popularly known as Daddy Lumba, to 13 December 2025. The ceremony was originally planned for 6 December.
The decision came during a meeting at the Otumfuo Saamanhene Palace on 10 November 2025, where traditional leaders appointed a new funeral committee chaired by Dadiesoabahene to oversee the arrangements. The meeting brought together feuding family members who have been locked in a dispute over the funeral arrangements since the musician’s death.
Daddy Lumba passed away on 26 July 2025 at Bank Hospital in Accra after a brief illness, aged 60. His death sent shockwaves across Ghana, with tributes pouring in from political leaders, fellow musicians, and fans who regarded him as one of the nation’s greatest musical icons.
During the Manhyia meeting, Daddy Lumba’s sister, Ernestina Akosua Brempomaa, requested that a postmortem be conducted, citing suspicion of foul play surrounding her brother’s death. She asked that both burial and funeral be postponed until postmortem results become available to determine the exact cause of death.
The chiefs confirmed that police would handle the postmortem and reiterated 13 December as the new date for the funeral. They urged the family to remain united and ensure a befitting burial for the celebrated musician.
The family dispute has been highly publicized since Daddy Lumba’s passing. His elder sister Ernestina and first wife Akosua Serwaa had previously filed an interlocutory injunction against the family head, Abusuapanin Kofi Owusu, and Transitions Funeral Home to halt the December 6 funeral.
When the Kumasi High Court dismissed the injunction application on 28 October 2025, Ernestina invoked Otumfuo’s Great Oath to halt the funeral and involve traditional leaders in settling the matter. The invocation of this oath, considered a measure of last resort in Asante tradition, compelled the Asantehene’s intervention.
On 10 November, various subchiefs in the Ashanti Kingdom, including Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s linguist Baffour Kantankrakye, met behind closed doors and ruled in favor of Ernestina. The palace dissolved the funeral committee and suspended the planned burial on 6 December.
Regarding the invocation of the Great Oath, which Akosua Brempomaa performed, the Asantehene has pardoned her but cautioned her against repeating such actions in the future.
Daddy Lumba, whose musical career spanned almost four decades, was a cultural icon whose music touched countless lives. President John Mahama paid tribute to him, stating that his unmatched musical genius provided the soundtrack to many lives.
The family now awaits the postmortem results before proceeding with the rescheduled funeral on 13 December.
