The widow of the late Dr. John Kumah, who served as the deputy finance minister and was a member of Parliament for the Ejisu constituency in the Ashanti Region under the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has unequivocally refuted claims suggesting her husband’s demise was due to food poisoning.
In an exclusive interview with Wilberforce Asare from Asaase News, conducted at her residence in Chantan, a suburb in Accra, Apostle Lilian Kumah emphasized that her husband had been battling a severe illness for more than a year.
She clarified that this terminal disease was diagnosed by doctors in Germany and ultimately led to her husband’s passing on Thursday, March 7, 2024, ruling out any connection to food poisoning as circulated by sections of both mainstream and social media.
Stop the speculation
Apostle Mrs. Lilian Kumah, the General Overseer of Disciples of Christ Ministries, spoke with a somber and mournful tone as she urged those speculating about her husband’s cause of death to cease their conjectures.
She emphasized that such speculation only serves to deepen the pain of both her immediate family and the broader Kumah family.
Additionally, she called for prompt police intervention against individuals such as Blessed Godsbrain Smart, popularly known as Captain Smart, who have publicly alleged that her late husband was poisoned without providing any evidence to support their claims.
She emphasized the importance of halting baseless accusations and urged for responsible behavior in such sensitive matters.
“Why is it that someone (referring to Captain Smart) has been this bold to claim that he knows for a fact that a person like John Kumah who has serviced his country virtually all his life, was poisoned, while he was working for his country and party (New Patriotic Party, NPP), why should we sit down and not bring that person to book.
“If it is true that a person who is not dead but alive claims that he knows how my husband (John Kumah) died and that he was poisoned, and that person is still moving around for the past three weeks, it hurts me, it saddens me and I do not know how best to express my frustrations about these false claims by Captain Smart,” the widow of John Kumah, Apostle Lilian Kumah said.
“If there are laws in this country concerning such false claims, I think this is the time for the leadership of the land to bring that wicked person (Captain Smart) to book to prove his false claims and to point out the persons who were involved in the poisoning of my late husband,” Mrs. Kumah further stated.
The August diagnoses
Apostle Lilian Kumah disclosed the true cause of her husband’s death, revealing that John Kumah had been diagnosed with a blood-related illness during a medical examination in Germany in August 2023, where she accompanied him.
She emphasized that despite numerous medical check-ups both in Germany and Ghana, none of the doctors they consulted ever mentioned any concerns regarding poisoning in John Kumah’s blood vessels.
“My husband went through pain but he never showed that he was in pain. He went through all the pain to do everything he needed to do during the period of his ill-health.
“He was motivated by a particular motto that he always operated by which is, “We don’t do what is convenient, we do what we are commanded to do”. So [despite] all the pain, he endured,” Mrs. Kumah remarked.
“Right from day one since he was diagnosed in Germany, I have been part of the medical processes my husband went through, and no one, none of the doctors ever told me that my husband’s medical situation was because of poisoning.
“I have all the medical reports both from Germany and Ghana and food poisoning has never been mentioned in any of the reports,” the late John Kumah’s widow added.
Last moments
Dr. John Kumah passed away around 12:40 PM at the Suhum government hospital. An ambulance transporting him, along with his wife and a medical doctor, from Ejisu to Accra was diverted to the Suhum medical facility when the doctor onboard noticed Mr. Kumah’s rapidly deteriorating condition.
Upon arrival at the hospital a little after 11:00 AM on Thursday, March 7, 2024, the medical team immediately worked to stabilize him in order to continue his journey to Accra, where he had planned to proceed to Germany for ongoing medical treatment.
However, despite the efforts of the medical staff at the Suhum government hospital, they were unable to save him.
John Kumah’s profile
Dr. John Kumah, who sadly passed away, had a diverse professional background, having served as a lawyer in private practice and an accomplished entrepreneur for over 15 years. His leadership skills, creativity, innovation, and dedication to job creation and youth development were evident throughout his career.
As the inaugural CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Dr. Kumah played a pivotal role in establishing NEIP as a key player in Ghana’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Under his guidance, the program provided training to 7,000 startup staff members in 2018 through the Presidential Business Support Programme and extended financial support to 1,350 beneficiaries.
Prior to his government tenure, Dr. Kumah co-founded and managed Aduaprokye Chambers, a prominent law firm, and established Majak Associates Ltd, a successful building and construction company.
In recognition of his achievements, Dr. Kumah was conferred with a Doctorate in Business Innovation from the Swiss Business School in Switzerland in November 2020, following his completion of a Master’s degree in Applied Business Research from the same institution in 2019.
I am afraid the widow is judging and concluding based on her belief. This should not be so. My advice is that we should not demonize Captain Smart and think that what he said is false ab initio. The police should only invite him to assist in the investigations based on whatever information he has a leave him if his assertions are proved wrong. None of us is God to know all.