The late Apostle Kwadwo Safo 'Kantanka' in a recent interview with Lexis Bill of Joy FM and Nana Yaw Piesie Safo in 2021, spoke about a miracle surrounding his birth at Kensere near Bekwai in the Ashanti Region. In the interview, a question about his age came up, but he did not provide a specific answer.
In the interview, published by Kantanka TV in 2022 on YouTube, Apostle Kwadwo Safo spoke about when he first settled in Accra in 1965 and how he started his church, Christo Asafo from a single bedroom in Accra New Town in 1969/70, first as a prayer group and later a church - Christ Reformed Church.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo talking about where he was born, the miracle surrounding his birth and when he got to Accra in 1965 as a young man and how he started his church from his bedroom in 1970 at Accra new Town pic.twitter.com/5ZvPaWFsn9
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He was asked about his age in 1965 when he arrived in Accra to start his business. But he only said he was a grown-up at the time and did not mention a specific age, rather, he was emphatic that it was in 1965, a year before the 1966 coup d'etat that ousted Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah, from office, that he first arrived to settle in Accra.
He mentions that he was the last born of his parents, the sixth born, and adds that his father died in 1969 and his mother also died in 1975.
Some publications about Apostle Kwadwo Safo, while he was alive, quote August 26, 1948, as his date of birth, which puts his age at 77 years at the time of his passing on September 11, 2025.
Related article: Apostle Kwadwo Safo 'Kantanka' founder of Christo Asafo Church passes on - Adwoa Safo confirms
However, information put out by his family after his death indicates he was born on August 26, 1912, thereby putting his age at 113 years.
This has generated some discussions with some questioning if the Apostle was indeed over 100 years old.
Right from childhood, Apostle Safo had a passion for science and technology and grew up desiring to pursue and develop his talent in that space.
After completing basic education, he attended the Ghana Technical Works Institute in Kumasi, now Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI), where he studied engineering, and later worked as a welder at the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) and other firms. He worked with an Israeli company that worked on the Akosombo Dam.
He founded the Kristo Asafo Mission in 1969, initially as a prayer group.
In 1971, the Mission became an African-initiated church, and later expanding into manufacturing electronics, agricultural tools, and automobiles.
In 1994, Apostle Safo established Kantanka Automobile to produce vehicles suited for African conditions.
The company began manufacturing in 1998, using locally sourced components for models like the Omama SUV and Onantefo pickup truck.
In 2012, using the services of the Chinese company Chongqing Big Science and Technology, Kantanka Automobile established an assembly plant in order to produce cars from knock-down kits. Kantanka vehicles are assembled in Ghana using parts imported from China.
Completed vehicles are both sold domestically and exported to other West African countries, including Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
The interview with Lexis Bill and Nana Yaw Piesie Safo was done in 2021 at the Annual Tech Expo by Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka shared some facts about his signs and wonders.
On Kantanka TV itself, there are a series of documentaries about Apostle Kwadwo Safo that talk about his works. In one documentary, his contemporaries, playmates and classmates from Kensere, who grew up with him, have testimonies about him when he started building toy cars from bamboo and tins as a child.
The annual tech expo is an event organised by Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana, a non-profit organisation founded by Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka.
The organisation aims to promote technological development and innovation in Ghana and beyond.
In the interview, Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, the renowned inventor and innovator, took the opportunity to share some of the achievements he made in the field of technology.
He is known for his remarkable inventions, such as the Kantanka cars, which are the first cars to be manufactured in Ghana, and the Kantanka drones, which are used for various purposes, including surveillance and agricultural activities.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka also shared some of the secrets behind his success in the field of technology and talked about his passion for technology and his belief that technology can be used to transform lives and improve the living standards of people.
He also shared some of the challenges he has faced in his journey as an inventor and innovator, including a lack of financial support and limited resources.
Despite the challenges, Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka continued to pursue his dreams and achieved remarkable success.
Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh
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