The Office of the Ga Dzase in the Greater Accra Region has clarified the late Ga Paramount Queemother, Naa Dedei Omaedro III was traditionally, customarily, legally, and genuinely installed and gazetted as the Queen Mother of the Ga State, and therefore deserves to be buried under her chieftaincy title as Ga customs demand.
Led by its Dzasetse (kingmaker) Nii Yaotey Otu II, the Office of the Ga Dzase stated categorically that the late Paramount Queen Mother—who reigned for six decades with an enviable record and served the Ga State with dignity, loyalty, and honor—has yet to be buried to join her ancestors.
According to a press statement signed and issued by Nii Yaotey Otu II, Ga traditional rites and customary practices for a deceased royal cannot be performed in the absence of the corpse or without the family’s prior consent before burial.
The statement posited that reference should be made to the recent funeral of the substantive Ga Mantse, Boni Nii Amugi II, whose customary rites prior to burial were conducted by the Amugi We family and the Ga Dzase.
For the avoidance of doubt, the office cited the following unambiguous authorities, which establish that both the immediate and extended family hold authority over the body and all customary rites: Republic v. High Court, Kumasi; Ex Parte Appiah and Others (1997-98) 1 GLR 503 (Supreme Court) Republic v. High Court, Kumasi; Ex Parte Noah (Supreme Court of Ghana, November 15, 1994, unreported), Neequaye and Another v. Okoe (1993-94) 1 GLR 538 (High Court, Accra)
In light of this, the Office of the Ga Dzase appealed that the family and children of the late Paramount Queen Mother of the Ga State be allowed to accord a befitting funeral and burial rite to Naa Dedei Omaedru III.
This would honor their beloved mother and family member in acknowledgment of her immense contributions and dedication to the Ga State, the institution of chieftaincy, and Ghana as a whole.
