Prominent Kumasi businessman and founder of the Kessben Group of Companies, Lawyer Stephen Kwabena Boateng, popularly known as Kwabena Kesse or Kessben, has died at the age of 68.
The Kessben Group of Companies confirmed that the businessman passed away in Kumasi on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, following a short period of illness.
News of his death began circulating widely on Thursday, August 20, sending shockwaves across Kumasi and Ghana’s business and media communities.
Kessben was one of the Ashanti Region’s most prominent entrepreneurs, building a diversified business empire over several decades.
Through the Kessben Group of Companies, his business interests expanded into several sectors, including media, education, hospitality, transport, insurance, travel and tours, shipping and freight forwarding, and healthcare.
Among businesses and institutions associated with the group are Kessben Media, Kessben Travel and Tours Limited, Fosuah Hotel Limited, Kessben Driving School Limited, Kessben Shipping and Freight Forwarding Limited, Aseda Clinic Limited, Transit World Limited, Aseda Insurance Brokerage Limited and Kessben University College.
His influence was particularly visible in Kumasi through Kessben FM and Kessben TV, which developed into well-known names in Ghana’s broadcasting industry.
Beyond business, Kessben was also a trained lawyer. He was called to the Ghana Bar in 2022, adding another achievement to a career that had already spanned several decades of entrepreneurship.
Tributes have continued to pour in following news of his passing. Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori Agyemang-Boadi was among those who mourned the businessman, while the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has also been formally informed of his death.
A book of condolence has been opened at his residence in Denyame, Kumasi, as family members, friends, business associates and sympathisers mourn his passing.
Details concerning his one-week observation and final funeral rites are expected to be announced by the family in due course.
Kessben leaves behind a significant legacy in Kumasi’s business and media landscape, having built enterprises that created jobs and established a name that became widely recognised across the Ashanti Region and beyond.
May he rest in peace.
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