John Kumah, Lilian Kumah, Nigel Gaisie, Captain Smart, 'poison party': The story so far

Though all the three major religions in Ghana, Christianity, Islam and Traditional, believe in death and life after; the demise of Ghanaians, especially young persons, are often shrouded by various conspiracy theories.

Allegations of family members using witchcraft to kill a successful member of their family, friends poisoning each other, family curses and the like are often heard when a Ghanaian dies.

In addition to this, for prominent Ghanaians who pass on, some renowned pastors come out to claim that they prophesised about their death.

All of these dramata have been seen after news of the death of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ejisu and Deputy Minister for Finance, John Kumah.

The deputy minister of finance died at Suhum Government Hospital on Thursday, March 7, 2024, after his health deteriorated after attending the Independence Day Celebration on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 in Kumasi, the capital town of the Ashanti Region.

Since his death, there have been claims and counterclaims.

Here is a story of John Kumah’s death so far:

Nigel Gaisie Prophecy

One of the things most Ghanaians started talking about after John Kumah’s death was a video of a 2023 31st Night Prophecy by Prophet Nigel Gaisie.

Gaisie is heard making pronouncements about a certain Deputy Minister for Finance.

According to his prophecy, the said deputy minister could ascend to the highest seat of government if he could navigate impending threats against him.

"I saw a Deputy Minister of Finance, if he can take care of himself, I see him at the highest height of government, but they want to attack him.

“If he can take care of himself, in the next years, God will help him and I saw him at the seat of government, but they have ganged, they have sat down, they want to crash him, a deputy minister of finance," Prophet Nigel Gaisie declared without mentioning a specific name.

Nigel Gaisie since the death of John Kumah has since posted a message on his Facebook and admitted in radio interviews that he was referring to the late MP and deputy minister for Finance.

Allegations of poisoning by Wontumi’s aide and Captain Smart

Another video that went viral after John Kumah’s death was an old video of journalist Godsbrain Smart, popularly known as Captain Smart, claiming on his programme on Onua TV that John Kumah had been poisoned.

Captain Smart claimed in the said video, which was taken in February 2024, that Kumah and other leading members of the NPP, including its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako (a.k.a. Chairman Wontumi), were poisoned at different times.

While reacting to John Kumah’s death on March 8, 2024, Captain Smart also claimed he was aware of 3 poison incidents suffered by the deputy finance minister – in the Ashanti Region, the Northern Region and in the Greater Accra Region.

"Things are becoming scary in the NPP, that is all I can say and it is important people take good care of themselves. Also, in this world, even if no one kills you, death will come your way at a point," Smart stressed.

"John Kumah survived the first attempt in Greater Accra before he was attacked in the Northern Region and the Ashanti Region," Smart disclosed before adding that Kumah shared one of the poisoned meals with the Chairman, Wontumi.

"The very food he ate was consumed by Wontumi too, I was looking at them," the TV host added without mentioning which region he was referring to.

Dominic Danquah, John Kumah’s aide, who was one of the first people to confirm his demise with more details, also waded into allegations that he had been poisoned.

In an interview with Accra-based Class FM hours after Kumah's death was confirmed, Danquah eulogized his late boss and wondered why anyone would take his life.

"We weren't expecting anything like that, so when the news came in, it wasn't easy. We have not been able to talk, but no matter what we do, no matter the number of hours we cry or wail, he is not coming back. God knows best.

"So, whoever had a hand in that, we leave that person to God. There is nothing that we can do, God knows the person and God knows John Kumah was a Godfearing man... so, it was like, poisoned? Why? How? What did he do? What has he done?

"Why would anyone think of poisoning or killing John Kumah? But it is finished, whatever they wanted, they can take it... We know how it happened but just as I said, we cannot do anything about it. God knows best," he stressed.

Then came a corroboration of the poison claims by Oheneba Nana Asiedu, a broadcast journalist and an aide to Chairman Wontumi.

During a programme on Wontumi FM, Nana Asiedu narrated how John Kumah’s health battles began after the legislator and Wontumi were served guinea fowl and a corn meal popularly known as ‘Tuo Zaafi’ in October 2023 when they went to Tamale to campaign and that was the beginning of the woes.

According to Asiedu, a nurse who attended to the duo when they exhibited signs of illness after consuming the meal suspected poisoning. Asiedu in his narrative said he was sure someone intentionally poisoned the food with the intent to cause harm and kill.

He said: "After the rounds, immediately they got to the hotel, someone brought guinea fowl meat to only Chairman and John Kumah. And being a campaign season, sometimes, they leave home around 4 or 5 and so haven’t eaten. And so they ate it, but under normal circumstances, when we return from such rounds, we all sit together to eat, possibly in one of the MPs’ houses, like a buffet, but this one, because we did not project to sleep, we could not make arrangements for food of that sort and so when they got to the hotel, that was when the guinea fowl meat was brought for John Kumah and Chairman, and then later, they brought them Tuo Zaafi to eat. That was when the issue started,” he said in Twi.

Asiedu continued to explain that by the next morning, when he woke up intending to go get Chairman Wontumi ready for the day’s activities, he realised he had missed about 15 calls from his boss.

“When I got to Charman’s door, knowing him as someone who would have quickly opened up for me, I knocked and knocked for a while, close to about 5 minutes before he came to the door. When Chairman came to the door, he was spotting only a boxer short and from what I saw, he crawled to be able to come and open the door. He had vomited on his bed and on the floor and in the washroom too, he had vomited all over the floor.

“When I went to John, he told me this is what had happened to Chairman and that Chairman had eaten the food too much because he was hungry, but as for him, he only ate something small and so he had vomited too, but it was unlike that of Chairman. I have walked with Chairman for 4 years but I had never seen Chairman the way he was on that 23rd October…” he added.

These allegations by these NPP members led to the ruling party being trolled on social media with many Ghanaians saying that the party has now become the New Poison Party.

Wontumi’s cryptic message:

A statement by Chairman Wontumi on John Kumah’s death even made the poisoning claims worse, as he hinted that he nearly died under the same circumstances as the deputy minister.

In a statement shared by wontumionline.com, Chairman Wontumi indicated that he was still shocked by the news of the deputy minister's death.

He described John Kumah as a “loyal friend and faithful brother" who was exceptional and would be missed by him and the entire Ashanti Region.

“My good friend and brother, John Kumah. My heart is heavy. My eyes are full of tears. I am devastated and distraught. I have been struggling to find the appropriate words to describe how I feel right now because I know how you would have reacted if I were in your position.

“It is a mixed feeling of disbelief and shock. And this unfortunate news takes me back to some few months ago,” Wontumi wrote.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman also recalled how the Ejisu legislator supported him when he nearly died some months ago.

“I remember how you stood by my side and ensured that I survived at the time that I was helplessly dying. Little did I know that I was going to survive, only for me to be confronted with this devastating news of your passing months later,” he said.

Response by John Kumah’s wife:

John Kumah’s wife, Apostle Lilian Kumah, could have none of the allegations and claims about the demise of her husband as she supposedly broke Akan tradition for women mourning the death of their husband to grant interviews.

In an interview with Asaase Radio, Apostle Kumah refuted claims that her husband was poisoned.

She disclosed that John Kumah had been grappling with a terminal disease for almost a year, a condition initially diagnosed by doctors in Germany.

Apostle Lilian Kumah, who also serves as the General Overseer of Disciples of Christ Ministries, expressed her distress over the speculations surrounding her husband's death, urging individuals to cease spreading unfounded claims.

“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,” citinewsroom.com quoted her to have said in an Interview with Asaase Radio.

She called on the Ghana Police Service to investigate all the persons who are making allegations that her husband was poisoned.

On Nigel Gaisie's prophecy on John Kumah, Apostle Kumah said that the prophet knew the late deputy minister was sick because he was close to the family. She added that he, however, turned around to exploit that to make a false prediction that a deputy minister would die in 2024.

“We know him very well and have been aware since November 2023 that the late John Kumah was seriously sick. My husband had a lot of respect for men of God in this country, and that included Nigel Gaisie when my husband and I thought he was a genuine man of God.

“Nigel Gaisie knew very well that my husband was terminally ill as far back as August 2023, but regardless of that, he stood on his altar on December 31, 2023, to lie through his supposed prophecy that a Ghanaian deputy minister will die in the year 2024. What does he want to achieve through these fake prophecies?” she asked.

Official Autopsy results

An autopsy conducted on the late Member of Parliament for Ejisu, John Ampontuah Kumah, has ruled out poisoning as the cause of his death.

According to GhanaWeb sources, the autopsy conducted on Friday, March 8, 2024, by a certified pathologist determined the cause of his death to be multiple myeloma, which is a type of blood cancer.

A source close to the MP has disclosed to GhanaWeb that he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma early 2023, and was undergoing treatment.

Family sources revealed after the MP's demise that he had earlier returned from Germany when his condition deteriorated, leading to his death.

Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects plasma cells, which are a type of white blood cell responsible for producing antibodies to help fight infections.

In multiple myeloma, abnormal plasma cells grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells. This can lead to weakened bones, anaemia, kidney damage, and suppressed immune function.

GhanaWeb's source confirmed that the MP was going through treatment at the University Hospital of Erlangen in Germany for his condition, which at a point led to a fracture in his left arm.

His records at the German Hospital intercepted by GhanaWeb show his diagnosis to include multiple myeloma, dislocated humerus shaft, and extraarticular lateral clavicle fracture (right), among others.

He had, at the time of his death, gone through four chemotherapy sessions, including one at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre here in Accra at his request.

According to GhanaWeb's source, the MP was scheduled to start active treatment in Germany on March 12, 2024, but was discharged against the doctor's advice so he could attend the Independence Day celebrations on March 6, 2024, before returning for the treatment.

Following a deterioration in his condition, the MP was being transported from Kumasi to Accra when he died midway. He was expected to be flown back to Germany for medical attention.

Police invitations:

Controversial broadcaster Captain Smart has been invited for questioning following his claims about the cause of death of the Deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah.

The Accra Regional Police Command is said to have invited him on Friday, 15 March 2024, after the wife of the late deputy Finance Minister Mrs. Lilian Kumah lodged a complaint, citinews.com reports.

A police source to citinewsroom.com also confirmed Kumasi-based Wontumi TV/Radio presenter, Oheneba Boamah, who is also an aide to NPP Ashanti regional chairman, has also been invited for questioning after he was mentioned by Captain Smart and his team when they met the police.

The invite by the Police seeks to help with gathering evidence of substantial value which could help them in their investigations of the death of the late Ejisu MP.

BAI/OGB