Krontihene of the Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Bofotia Boamponsem, has said the widow of the late former Deputy Minister, Dr. John Kumah, by traditional practice, erred in speaking publicly soon after her husband’s death.
The widow, Apostle Lilian Kumah, reportedly began granting media interviews barely 48 hours after her husband’s death was announced.
She has strongly debunked rumours that her husband died after he was poisoned, as has been alleged by media personality Captain Smart, which has since gone viral.
According to the widow, who has officially complained to the police to invite Captain Smart to prove the allegation, her husband died after he battled with a serious illness for over a year.
Some Ghanaians have criticized the widow of the former Member of Parliament, Ejisu for talking too much when she should be quiet and mourning her husband as tradition demands.
Commenting on the issue in an interview with Kasapa News, Nana Bofotia Boamponsem agreed with those who disapprove of the widow’s public speaking, as that flouts traditional practice
”Traditionally, it is not the widow who communicates issues about the death of her husband. Traditionally, when a woman is in the room with her husband and he dies or they are both abroad and the man dies, what the woman must do is communicate the death to her parents, then they will inform the family of the man in private, after that, the widow ceases to talk about her husband’s death. Nobody has the right to ask the widow about the circumstances leading to her husband’s death and she is not also allowed to explain the circumstances to anyone. It is the responsibility of her husband’s family to speak to matters about the death.”
Asked if it was wrong for the widow to have clarified or debunked rumours about her husband’s death, Nana Bofotia Boaposem insisted, yes, adding that that is not acceptable traditionally.
‘What the widow should have said when the media called her was that, for me, I don’t know that my husband was poisoned. Let’s wait until the post-mortem is done for the cause of death to be communicated to my husband’s family. They will then make the cause of death public if they wish so to make. I say so because the widow is not a family member of her husband, if she was, she wouldn’t have been his wife. Such matters are communicated by the husband’s family,” Nana Bofotia Boaposem added.
The former Deputy Finance Minister died last Thursday at Suhum while he was being transported in an ambulance to Accra for a trip abroad for treatment.
