Traditional leaders from Ghana’s Eastern Region have joined family members, clergy, and sympathizers in Navrongo to mourn and celebrate the life of the late Madam Elizabeth Assibi Kanluke, mother of private legal practitioner Lawyer Anatuh Seidu Bogobiri and a close family friend of the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The chiefs, led by Mawerehene of Akyem Adadientam, Baffour Ɔdefoɔ Boamah Darko, traveled from the Eastern Region to participate in the funeral rites, demonstrating solidarity, unity, and compassion with the bereaved family.
Baffour Ɔdefoɔ Boamah Darko, who is also known privately as Stephen Bewong and serves as the Deputy Director for Management Information Systems at NHIS, described the late Madam Kanluke as a woman of great virtue whose life was marked by discipline, service, and selflessness.
Speaking at the funeral, he said his presence, along with the accompanying chiefs, reflected a long-standing relationship between the families and the importance of supporting loved ones in times of grief.
“Funerals are not only about mourning but about showing love, unity, and compassion as human beings. As a family friend, I needed to be here to share in their pain and honor the life of a remarkable woman,” he said.
The delegation of traditional leaders included Baffour Kwadwo Adu, Sanaahene of Akyem Adadientam; Baffour Nana Aboagye Ababio, Tufohene of Akyem Okorase; Baffour Kofi Afranie, Tufohene of Akyem Adadientam; and Baffour Kwasi Afrifa, Dabenhene of Akyem Adadientam.
Madam Elizabeth Assibi Kanluke was born in 1940 to Theophilus Kanluke, popularly known as Ex-Sergeant Moro Grushie of the Regimental West Africa Frontier Force of the Gold Coast Army, and Madam Bagna Theresa Ayariga Kanluke, a trader and pito brewer from Doba, Navrongo. Her father, a native of Janania in Navrongo, served under British colonial rule and fought in both the First and Second World Wars.
She spent her early years in the disciplined environment of Ouadara Barracks in Kumasi while maintaining strong cultural and educational ties with Navrongo. She had two brothers—Baba Robert Kanluke and John Kamburege Kanluke—and a sister, Teni Catherine Kanluke.
Madam Assibi began her formal education in 1950, completed middle school in 1965, and later trained at Tumu Training College from 1969 to 1973. She served as a teacher and headmistress at several schools across the Upper East Region and retired honorably in 2008 as an Assistant Director of Education.
The family describes her as a devout Catholic; she was actively involved in church activities, serving as a catechist, choir master, and leader in various Catholic societies. Even during periods of ill health, she remained steadfast in her faith.
Madam Elizabeth Assibi Kanluke is remembered as a pillar of faith, education, and service, whose legacy continues to inspire her family, former students, and the wider community.
Source: A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Moses Apiah | Navrongo
