The widow of the late Dr John Kumah, Deputy Minister for Finance and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for the Ejisu Constituency in the Ashanti Region, has refuted the food poisoning claims that killed her husband.
According to Apostle Lilian Kumah, her late husband was diagnosed with a blood-related disease, multiple myeloma sometime in August 2023 in Germany when she accompanied him for a medical check-up.
Her reactions follow the complaint she filed at the Accra Central Police Station against Blessed Godsbrain Smart, popularly known as Captain Smart, who publicly stated that her late husband was poisoned but has not been made to provide any evidence to prove the wild claim he has made about the death of John Kumah.
Addressing the issue with Asaase Radio, the widow noted that her late husband did not die as a result of food poisoning as has been speculated by sections of mainstream media and social media but he battled with a serious illness for about a year.
She explained that her late husband had been battling with a terminal disease for nearly a year now since it was discovered by his doctors in Germany and that is what her husband succumbed to on Thursday, 7th March 2024, and not food poisoning.
Mrs. Kumah added that throughout all the medical check-ups of her husband in Germany and Ghana, not once did any of the medical doctors they encountered, ever mention the issue of poisoning in the blood vessels of her husband.
Apostle Lilian Kumah, who is also the General Overseer of Disciples of Christ Ministries said: “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”.
“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.
She continues that “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.
Captain Smart Allegations
She cries out “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 served 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”.
According to her “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 has still moved 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”.
“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 late Dr John Kumah died at about 12:40pm at the Suhum government hospital after an ambulance he was travelling in together with his wife and medical doctor, from Ejisu to Accra was diverted to the Suhum medical facility when the doctor on board noticed that Mr Kumah’s condition was fast deteriorating.
On arrival at the hospital, a little after 11am on Thursday, 7th March 2024, the medical team moved straight away to try and stabilize him so that they could continue with their journey to Accra for his onward planned journey to Germany where he has been receiving treatment for his health challenge.
However, the Suhum government hospital’s efforts failed to keep him alive.
The late Dr. John Kumah was a lawyer in private practice and an entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in leadership, creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness in creating jobs and supporting youth development before becoming a Deputy Minister for Finance.
-BY Daniel Bampoe