On Thursday, August 7, 2025, Ghana lost one of its most revered traditional leaders when Asantehemaa, Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, peacefully transitioned to join her ancestors, leaving behind a legacy that will echo through genera­tions.The devastating news was delivered by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, during an emotionally charged emergency meeting of the Kumasi Tradi­tional Council on Monday.Speaking through his linguist in accordance with royal protocol, the Asantehene revealed that the beloved Queen Mother had been remarkably active throughout the morning of her final day, engag­ing in her usual duties with char­acteristic vigor, before suddenly departing in the afternoon.The late Asantehemaa, Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom IIIHer passing came just one day after Ghana was plunged into national mourning following the tragic military helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight high-ranking government offi­cials, creating an unprecedented period of collective grief that has left the nation grappling with multiple profound losses.Born as Nana Ama Konadu in 1927 at the sacred Benyaade Shrine in Merdan, a small town in Kwadaso, Kumasi, she entered the world during the critical peri­od of the Asante Confederacy's restoration.Her birth itself seemed pro­phetic, occurring at a shrine that would later symbolise the spiritu­al foundation of her remarkable journey to the apex of Asante traditional authority.The future Queen Mother was born to Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, who would later reign as Asantehemaa from 1977 to 2016, and Opanin Kofi Fofie- known affectionately as Koofie or Keewuo-a skilled carpenter from Besease near Atimatim in Kumasi.This humble yet dignified lineage would shape her under­standing of both nobility and the common touch that characterised her reign.In a twist of fate that would profoundly influence her char­acter, young Nana Ama Konadu was separated from her biological mother when she was barely over a year old and still breastfeeding.She was entrusted to the care of her maternal aunt, Nana Afia Konadu, in Ashanti New Town (Ash-Town), a suburb of Kumasi.

This early experience of separation and adaptation would forge the resilience and empathy that became hallmarks of her later leadership.While formal education eluded her, Nana Konadu Yiadom received what proved to be far more valuable-a rigorous tra­ditional education that equipped her with wisdom no classroom could provide.She learned the intricate protocols of royal conduct, the delicate art of conflict resolu­tion, the sacred traditions of the Asante people, and the profound responsibility of leadership.Her initiation into womanhood occurred alongside her niece, Nana Abena Ansa, in their early teenage years, marking her for­mal entry into the complex world of Asante traditional practices.

She later married Opanin Kwame Boateng, a respected blacksmith from Aduman in Kumasi, a union that grounded her in the everyday experiences of ordinary Asante families.In the mid-1990s, a remark­able prophecy emerged from Kwaku Firi Bosomfo, the priest of Kwaku Firi, who declared through Baffour Akoto, a Senior Linguist of the Asantehene, that Nanahemaa-as she was affec­tionately known-would one day ascend to become Queen Mother of the entire Asante Kingdom.

What seemed like an impossible dream given the hierarchical nature of traditional succession became divine reality.On February 6, 2016, follow­ing the death of her mother and predecessor, she was enstooled as the 14th Asantehemaa, taking the name Nana Konadu Yiadom III.