The New Juaben Traditional Council has been rocked with confusion over alleged “ghost chiefs” presented to the National House of Chiefs and deliberate exclusion of some chiefs from the list by Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area Daasebre Prof. Emeritus Oti Boateng.
Krontihene of New Juaben Traditional Area, Baffuor Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng has therefore petitioned the National House Chiefs over the alleged “illegalities and anomalies.”
Baffuor Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng contend in the Petition that, the exclusion of eight (8) existing and legitimate Divisional Chiefs and members of the New Juaben Traditional Council – Gyasehene, Kontihene, Kyidomhene, Manwerehene, Ntotoyehene, Akyempemhene Ayokoↄhene and Nkosoↄhene from the list of Divisional Chiefs presented to the House of Chiefs is a slap on the face of the Chieftaincy Act.
According to the Krontihene, the act constitutes a serious breach of law and customary law and usage pertaining to the New Juaben Traditional Area, by whoever or wherever the list emanated from.
He stated that the existing number of Divisional Chiefs within the New Juaben Traditional Area, although twelve (12), therefore the list as it appears in the L. I. 2409, is not a true reflection of what is on the ground, as at the date of the gazette, 1st July 2020.
He said the list of Divisional Chiefs in the L. I. 2409 as it stands currently, is illegitimate because ” it contains non-existing stools, unheard of in the Traditional Area since 1875 when our ancestors arrived at the current location from Asante Juaben and finally established the New Juaben settlement in 1878. These non-existing and unheard of stools are Betomhene, Srodaehene, Nsukwaohene, and Adwesohene”.
He also pointed out another illegality being the inclusion of four (4) Sub-divisional Chiefs viz, Nyamekromhene, Suhyenhene, Adahene, and Akwadumhene, in Regulation 7 (1) (h) of the L. I. 2409 as at the date of the gazette, 1st July 2020, and thus elevating them to Divisional status, without due regard to customary law and usage in the process of making a Divisional Chief in the New Juaben Traditional Area.
Below is the full petition by the New Juaben Krontihene.
The President
National House of Chiefs
P. O. Box 4148
Kumasi
Dear President,
PETITION ON ANOMALIES IN THE CHIEFTAINCY (MEMBERSHIP OF REGIONAL HOUSES OF CHIEFS) INSTRUMENT 2020 (L. I. 2409)
RE: REGULATION 7 (1) (h) – NEW JUABEN TRADITIONAL AREA
INTRODUCTION
May I humbly take this opportunity, with due respect, to introduce myself as a prelude to this Petition.
I am the Kontihene (or Krontihene – a spelling variant), a Divisional Chief, and Head of the Kontire Ne Akwamu Division (a.k.a. Asafo Division), of the New Juaben Traditional Area, with the spiritual seat in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of the Republic of Ghana. I swore the customary Oath of Allegiance to my overlord, the Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area, on 15th August 2013 under the stool name; Baffour Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng.
I swore the Official Oath, the Oath of Secrecy, and the Oath of Allegiance, all on 17th October 2014 before the High Court Judge in Koforidua. My stool name was entered into the Chieftaincy Bulletin Vol. 2 No.1 of November 2015 with serial number 2164. Since my enstoolment and having been admitted as a bona fide member of the New Juaben Traditional Council, I have duly been performing my customary and judicial functions as a Divisional Chief and for over four (4) years acted as Acting President on behalf of the Omanhene in his absence outside the jurisdiction of the New Juaben Traditional Area.
I write this Petition on my own behalf and on behalf of my family: The Asafo Boateng Royal Family (occupants of the Kontire Stool of New Juaben.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Obed Ansah
