Barima Asiedu Offei, Presiding Member of Akuapem North, and an Elder in the Okuapeman Palace have urged the Queen-mother of Okuapeman, Nana Obuo Nketiaa II, and petitioners in the Okuapeman Chieftaincy dispute to apologize and reconcile.
He said the Queen-mother must render an unqualified apology to President Akufo Addo over their unwarranted insults on his personality and false accusations of allegedly meddling in the Akropong chieftaincy affairs.
The call follows a judgment by the Judicial Committee of the National House of Chiefs on September 29, 2022, upholding the earlier judgment of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs that the Abrewatia is the legitimate person to nominate a candidate and present the same to Kingmakers for enstoolment of Okuapehene.
Barimah Asiedu Offei said, the judgment vindicates President Akufo Addo that he never meddled and manipulated tradition and customs in the enstoolment of Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III as Okuapehene.
“They have to apologize to His Excellence the President because he hails from the town but they lied against him and made false accusations about him. So if we want proper unity, they have to apologize to the President, they have to apologize to Nana Kwasi Akuffo III they have to apologize to all of us.”
He said Okuapeman needs peace to develop therefore the petitioners must reconcile.
“We don’t need that money that has been slapped on them. It is not fine that we need Unity we need peace but they have to apologize to all of us so we can all move together because if we don’t unite there will not be development so we need that peace and unity”
Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III was enstooled and outdoors on May 3, 2020, having sworn the oath of coronation to the late Krontihene Osahene Ofei Kwasi Agyemang.
All five Divisional Chiefs in Okuapeman also swore an oath of allegiance to the new Okuapehene.
They are the Lartehhene and Benkumhene of Akuapem, Osabarima Enyine Asiedu Okoo Ababio III; the Aburihene and Adontenhene of Akuapem, Otobuor Djan Kwasi; the Krontihene of Akuapem, Osahene Ofei Kwasi Agyeman; the Adukromhene and Nifahene of Akuapem, represented by Awukuguahene and Acting Nifahene, Nana Opese Konadu, and the Amanokromhene and Gyasehene of Akuapem, Nana Osim Kwatia.
Background to petitions
The codified declaration of the customary law (Akuapem State) order, 1960, L.I. 32 recognizes three Royal Houses namely: Nketia House, Ama Ogyaa House, and Sakyiabea House that can ascend to the Ofori Kuma stool.
The L.I. further provides that these three houses ascend on a rotational basis and when it is a house’s turn, it is that house that nominates.
Lilly Agyemang, Abrewatia of the Sakyiabea Royal Family whose turn is to nominate therefore nominated and presented the current Okuapehene Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III to the Kingmakers and was enstooled but the Queen-mother Nana Obuo Nketiaa II presented another candidate Odehye Kwasi Akuffo and surreptitiously enstooled same as Okuapehene.
This compelled the Abrewatia Lilly Agyemang to initiate a suit at the judicial committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs in 2019 to set the record straight that under L.I. 32 and the customs of Okuapeman, it is not the preserve of the Queen-mother to solely nominate the Okuapehene which the Judicial committee upheld and entered a judgment in her favor on April 30, 2020.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Queen-mother and her associates, appealed against the judgment to the Judicial Committee of the National House of Chiefs
However, On 29th September 2022, when the judicial committee of the National House of Chiefs sat, it Ominously dismissed the appeal filed by the Queen-mother and her 3 other associates and affirmed the judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs and mulcted the petitioners with the cost of GH.50,000.00.
Counsel for the petitioner’s Lawyer Ansa Asare upon arrival in Akropong together with jubilating supporters of the petitioners Thursday evening of September 29, 2022, told journalists that “The Judicial Committee of the National House of Chiefs said the Okuapehemaa should take the necessary step to install Okuapehene”.
He described it as just a rumor claim that their petition has been thrown out.
“what the National House of Chiefs decided was that since the Eastern Regional House of chiefs said because there was not sufficient consultation in the selection and ultimate enstoolment of Okuapehene they should go back and make sure that’s all the senior female elders of the Sakyiabea must select candidates or a candidate present to Asonahene who will then pass it on to Okuapehemaa to make the pronouncement. So we promise you by Christmas there will be Okuapehene”.
However addressing the media Friday, September 30, 2022, the defense Counsel Augustine Asafo Adjei questioned “how can those whose case has been dismissed and have been mulcted with cost, still have the guts to claim that they have won the case at the National House of Chiefs”.
Lawyer Augustine Asafo Adjei maintained that the judgment was unambiguous and hence must not be misinterpreted by the petitioners.
“Let peace reign after the judgment of the judicial committee of the National House of Chiefs. Let the insults and insinuations cease. The judgment is clear and nowhere in the judgment did it call for a restart of the nomination processes. It required that custom is followed. So far as our client is concerned, the custom has been followed and Akuapem has A King now who was not installed by our client. Note our client is not a kingmaker. Her only role is to nominate within the tenets of L.I. 32.
We hope this would settle the deliberate misinterpretation and distortion of the judgment of both the judicial committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs”
Although there is relative calm, there is a heavy presence of security at Akropong Akuapem to maintain law and order following the judgment by the National House of Chiefs.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Obed Ansah
