A new religious movement has emerged in Ghana known as Asomdwee Ntonton Som, a name that translates literally as “Peace and Exaltation Religion.” Ghana is a deeply multireligious society, long accustomed to religious plurality. Christianity—represented by historic denominations such as Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican, and Salvation Army, as well as numerous Pentecostal and Charismatic movements—dominates the religious landscape. Islam, Buddhism, and other faiths also have established presences in the country.
Since 2006, however, Asomdwee Ntonton Som has entered this already crowded religious field and has grown rapidly. With an estimated membership exceeding 30,000, spread across Ghana and the diaspora, the movement presents itself as one of the fastest-growing new religious movements in the country. Its founder and spiritual leader, Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh, openly proclaims that the movement will ultimately become Ghana’s national religion, eclipsing all others. According to him, its future status will parallel that of Islam in Saudi Arabia or Judaism in ancient Israel, serving as the singular religious foundation of the nation.
Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh rejects the characterization of Asomdwee Ntonton Som as a “new” religion in the sense of novelty. Instead, he teaches that it represents the original form of worship practiced by the Akan people when they lived in ancient Assyria. According to his teachings, the Assyrians later migrated to the land now known as Ghana, bringing with them this primordial religious tradition.
Central to his doctrine is the claim that Akan was the name of a historical individual. Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh teaches that Akan was the first prophet sent by God after the biblical Flood of Noah and that he belonged to a category of exalted spiritual beings known as Elijahs. These Elijahs, he asserts, worship God through exaltation—calling upon the divine name—a form of worship practiced in the highest heavens, closest to God Himself. Akan, he claims, had seventeen children, all of whom were prophets. God allegedly instructed Akan’s sixteenth child that a promised land had been prepared for them in what is now Ghana and that they should migrate there. After the death of the sixteenth child, the seventeenth assumed leadership and led the people from Assyria toward West Africa. When this final leader died in Central Africa, the people, now without prophetic guidance, sought spiritual direction from a spiritualist. According to Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh, this moment marked the corruption of exaltation worship and the introduction of idol worship, which the people carried with them into present-day Ghana.
Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh further teaches that Ghana is one of three divinely selected nations chosen to house God’s true religion. As a result, he argues that idolatry must be completely eradicated from Ghanaian society. He presents himself as a divinely commissioned messenger (Nyame Somafo) sent by the Most High God to purge the nation of evil spirits and idol worship, reunite humanity under a single religious system, and restore what he describes as the only form of worship acceptable to God. According to Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh, God does not recognize Christianity, Islam, or any other existing religion in Ghana; only Asomdwee Ntonton Som, centered on exaltation worship, meets divine approval.
Within this theological framework, Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh identifies himself as the Elijah foretold to return in the End Times. He describes himself as one of 314 Messiahs sent by God throughout history to confront Satan and redeem humanity. He claims to be the first Messiah sent to Africa. Like earlier messianic figures—whom he includes Moses and Jesus of Nazareth—Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh teaches that messiahs must be born of women, grow up among the people to whom they are sent, and receive divine commissioning at the appointed time.
In fulfillment of what he describes as divine instruction, Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh has overseen the construction of what he calls the Third Temple of God in Ekumfi Otuam, Ghana. According to his teachings, the first two temples were the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia and the Temple of Solomon in Israel, making the Ghanaian structure the latest and final sacred center in God’s unfolding religious plan.
Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh’s teachings emphasize the absolute oneness of God. He teaches that the personal name of the Most High God is RABBI (pronounced Rah-bee). According to him, he is currently writing the Tum Nwoma (Book of Power), which he claims is being dictated to him by the Greater Angel Gabriel.
Okronkronyi Nyame Somafo Yawoh further teaches that the sacred language of Asomdwee Ntonton Som is Fante-Twi, underscoring the movement’s emphasis on indigenous Ghanaian linguistic forms. In keeping with what he describes as messianic precedent, he claims to perform healings solely through verbal command—by instructing evil spirits to depart from afflicted bodies—and through the laying on of hands. These healing practices, he asserts, align him with earlier messianic figures sent by God.
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