The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will today, Thursday, July 9, 2026, introduce Nana Ama Bonsu to the Kumasi Traditional Council as the new Kumasihemaa, marking a key stage in her enstoolment process as the 15th Asantehemaa.
The ceremony, to be held at the Manhyia Palace, will be attended by Kumasi divisional chiefs and chaired by the Asantehene in accordance with Asante tradition.
Following today’s presentation, Nana Ama B onsu is expected to be introduced to the Asanteman Council next week, where she will formally assume the office of Asantehemaa under the stool name Nana Yaa Akyea II.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II named Nana Ama Bonsu as the 15th Asantehemaa on Monday, July 6, 2026, following the demise of the late Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III in August 2025. Her appointment took immediate effect, and she was officially outdoored at the Manhyia Palace the same day.
Nana Ama Bonsu succeeds Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, who died at the age of 98 after serving as Asantehemaa for eight years. Born in 1927, Nana Konadu Yiadom III was installed in 2017 at the age of 90, succeeding her mother, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II.
The new Asantehemaa is a granddaughter of Otumfuo Agyeman Prempeh I, the 13th Asantehene, who was exiled to the Seychelles by the British during the Anglo-Asante Wars in the 19th century. She is also a niece of Otumfuo Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, the 14th Asantehene.
Nana Ama Bonsu is the sister of the late Nana Akwasi Agyemang, the former long-serving Metropolitan Chief Executive of Kumasi, popularly known as “Okumkom.”
Her appointment has been widely regarded as the beginning of a new chapter in the traditional leadership of Asanteman, with the office of the Asantehemaa playing a central role in customary governance, succession, and the preservation of Asante culture.
The late Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III was the elder sister of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the daughter of Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, who reigned as Asantehemaa for 39 years before her death on November 15, 2016, at the age of 109.
The institution of the Asantehemaa traces its origins to the founding of the Asante Kingdom more than three centuries ago.
By Benjamin Aidoo
