By Frances Dorothy Ward
Kumasi Aug. 11, GNA – The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has officially informed the Asanteman Traditional Council of the death of the Asantehemaa, Nana Konadu Yiadom III.
Nana Konadu Yiadom died on Thursday August 7, 2025, after a short illness.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu, addressing the Asanteman Traditional Council in Kumasi on Monday, said the one week rite, would be held on August 21, this year, at the Manhyia palace.
Born in 1927 to the late Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II and Opanin Kofi Fofie, Nana Konadu’s early years were marked by humility and traditional upbringing.
Though she never received formal education, she was schooled in the rich customs, values, and protocols of the Ashanti people. These preparations that would one day place her at the heart of the kingdom’s leadership.
In 2017, following the passing of her revered mother, she was enstooled as Asantehemaa, taking on the sacred responsibility of guiding the royal lineage, advising the Asantehene, and preserving the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Golden Stool.
For more than eight years, she carried this mantle with grace, compassion, and unwavering devotion to her people.
Nana Konadu Yiadom III, was more than a queen mother; she was a mother to all.
Her reign was marked by quiet yet impactful service — supporting maternal and child health, advocating breastfeeding, assisting vulnerable families, and providing resources to hospitals, including the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Manhyia Government Hospital.
Her generosity lifted burdens and restored dignity to countless individuals.
She was the living embodiment of Ashanti womanhood: a custodian of tradition, a peacemaker in times of conflict, and a guiding light for both men and women in public service.
Even at nearly a century of life, her presence commanded respect as was seen when she stood to welcome visiting monarchs and dignitaries, a testament to her enduring strength and loyalty to the Asante throne.
Profile
Asantehemaa was named Nana Ama Konadu at birth and also known by all as Nana Panin or Naa Panin. She later became Nana Konadu Yiadom III, after her enstoolment as the 14th Asantehemaa on February 6, 2016.
She was born in 1927 at Benyaade Shrine at Merdan, a small town located at Kwadaso, Kumasi, in the days of the restoration of the Asante Confederacy.
She was born to Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa who reigned from 1977 to 2016. Her father was known as Opanin Kofi Fofie, known popularly as Koofie or Keewuo, a carpenter by profession from Besease near Atimatim in Kumasi.
At a very tender age, just when she was a little over a year old and being breastfed, Nana Konadu Yiadom III, Asantehemaa, was separated from her biological mother and given to her aunt (mother’s sister), Nana Afia Konadu at Ashanti New Town (Ash-Town), a suburb of Kumasi.
Nanahemaa never had any formal education but she undergone a rigorous and quality informal education, learning a lot of things which were not taught in the classroom.
She was initiated and underwent puberty rites together with her niece, Nana Abena Ansa in their early teens. She married Opanin Kwame Boateng, a blacksmith by profession from Aduman in Kumasi.
She is religious, kind hearted, calm, fair and firm, hardworking, very humble, unassuming and accommodating. In the mid-1990s, Kwaku Firi Bosomfo, the priest of Kwaku Firi, prophesied through Baffour Akoto, a Senior Linguist of Asantehene, that Nanahemaa would be Queen of Asante someday and surely, it came to pass.
Nanahemaa has achieved a lot and has been recognized as such. Through her constant generosity in doing God’s work, the Saviour Church named a school after her, Nana Konadu Saviour School. She has exhibited high level of equity, justice and fairness and all cases brought before her have been settled amicably to the satisfaction of both parties involved.
In celebrating her 5th Anniversary as Asantehemaa, she made a huge donation to the mothers at the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU), Pediatric Emergency Care Unit (PICU) and Pediatric Emergency Unit (PEU) and paid for all the medical bills and expenses for new mothers at the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU) at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Manhyia Government District Hospital.
Nanahemaa has started a vigorous campaign and instituted an annual event to encourage mothers to breastfeed their young ones, the main reason why she made a generous donation to the Mother-Baby Unit at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Manhyia Government District Hospital.
GNA