Ghana Corpses Fight In The Heavens

For months, Ghanaians have been engrossed in debate over the passing of highlife legend Daddy Lumba. What began as a private family matter — a dispute between his legal wife in Germany and his partner in Ghana — quickly grew into a national spectacle. Judges, royals, commentators and everyday citizens all found themselves drawn into the controversy.

Apostle Kwadwo Safo, founder of Kantanka, has likewise witnessed bitter disputes among relatives over the handling of a loved one’s remains. In each case, the conflict spills beyond the family and into the public arena, with Ghanaians passionately taking sides.

In my 67 years of life, I have never encountered anything similar in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. Families there experience jealousy and disagreements like anywhere else, but long‑standing norms around dignity, law, and tradition make it unthinkable to fight over the burial of the dead. The resting place of a loved one is treated as sacred, not a battleground.

Ghana’s recurring disputes over funerals and burials point to a deeper social challenge. Jealousy — especially within families — often undermines unity. Nationally, Ghanaians celebrate talent, ambition and achievement. But privately, within families and communities, rising talent can trigger insecurity, resentment and the familiar pull‑down instinct. When this tension reaches even the graves of the departed, it becomes a stark symbol of how difficult it is for the living to thrive in peace.

A society’s progress depends not only on money, education and modernised traditions, but also on emotional maturity, mutual respect and the ability to celebrate one another’s success. These qualities take time to cultivate, yet they are essential for any nation that hopes to rise together.

Ghana must allow its dead to rest in peace — and in doing so, create space for the living to build prosperous, dignified lives free from needless conflict.

Ghana: let your departed rest in perfect peace.