Kingmakers and people of Adoagyiri near Nsawam have risen up against the purported installation of a new chief by the Okyehene of the Abuakwa traditional area, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II.
Last Saturday, Odehyee Kwame Ntiamoah from the Dwumana royal family of Adoagyiri was installed as Chief of Adoagyiri with the stool name Barima Adu Korkor III under heavy police presence and gun-wielding landguards who stormed the community under the alleged orders of Okyehene.
Meanwhile, addressing a Press Conference in Adoagyiri, the Odekyee Kronkron Nana Kwabena Agyemang indicated that the said installation of Kwame Ntiamoah is a nullity as it goes against their custom because, according to him, Adoagyiri does not fall under Abuakwa hence the Okyehene has no right to install a chief for the people.
They have also accused Kyebi District Police Commander, Chief Supt. Magnus Reindorf Sam for being in league with some self-seeking elders in Adoagyiri to illegally and unlawfully install one Odehyee Kwame Ntiamoah from the Dwumana Royal Family of Adoagyiri as Chief of Adoagyiri with the stool name Barima Adu Korkor III.
At a press conference in Adoagyiri on Monday August 23, 2023 to set the record straight, the chiefs, youths and elders who were clad in red and black expressed disappointment in the Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyi who sent the Kyebi District Police Commander, Chief Supt. Magnus Reindorf Sam and team of notorious land-guards to Adoagyiri couple of days ago to illegally and unlawfully install Barima Adu Korkor lll.
Amidst beating of war drums and signing of war songs signifying that the chiefs, elders and residents of Adoagyiri Divisional Area under the Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area have equally resisted the purported installation of Odehyee Kwame Ntiamoah him.
Although the press conference was addressed by Odekyee kronkron Nana Kwabena Agyemang was very successfully and peaceful, the event was under the strict supervision of the Ghana Police Service.
At the starting the press conference, the visibly angry chiefs and elders of the Adoagyiri have performed liberation to call on their ancestors and river gods to restore peace by calling the said imposter chief to order since he has no capacity to ascend the Adoagyiri Stool.
They also invoked several river gods of the Adoagyiri and Akyem Kotoku to deal with various politicians, police officers and individuals who had been in the league with those self-seeking elders to install the imposter chief of the area.
Fuming with anger the chiefs and elders of Adorgiri described the actions of Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyi and Kyebi District Police Commander as criminal and unlawful since there is a substantive gazetted chief of Adorgiri in the person of Afutu Dompreh II who is life and kicking.
They warned the Akyem Abuakwa Council that, Afutu Dompreh II is their legitimate Chief and stressed that per customs and traditions of Adorgiri, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyi has no traditional powers to invade Adorgyiri to install a chief.
They pointed out that the Adorgiri Divisional Area is not under the Akyem Abuakwa states as being claimed by Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyi and followers at the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, stressing that the Adorgiri community is traditionally and customarily under the Akyem Kototu Traditional Area heard by Oseadiayo Dr. Frimpong Manso IV.
They refuted the assertion by the members of of Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council that Adoagyiri has no legitimate chief.
According to them, Adoagyiri has a legitimate chief in Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II, whom the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs recognises.
The elders in no uncertain terms condemned members of Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council for the claims they made and their continuous attack on their legitimate chief.
“The Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs on 2 February 2022, with suit number- JC/ERHC/AP1/2008, gave legitimacy and confirmed Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II as Chief of Adoagyiri and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council, so on what basis is the state Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council saying that Kotoku Adoagyiri has no chief?
“We would like to state clearly and set the records straight that, the statement made by members of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council is untrue and total falsehood with the sole aim of discrediting the reign of Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II to achieve their parochial interest. We, therefore, call on the general public and citizens of Akyem Kotoku State to decline such needless and baseless statements by the state secretary,” they explained.
The elders and kingmakers gave the historical antecedent of Adoagyiri, which it said falls under Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area.
“Adoagyiri has since historical times been part of Akyem Kotoku and falls directly under the Gyase Division. It holds the title of Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council from the first chief Nana Dompreh Mpesempese to date.
“Available records indicate that all substantive Adoagyiri chiefs have been part of the Akyem Kotoku state, including the records and evidence of Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor II as chief of Adoagyiri and Ankoabehene of Akyem Kotoku State with gazette number “No-59” issued on 18th June 1955 by the National House of Chiefs,” they added.
They indicated that Nana Adu Korkor II was installed chief at Adoagyiri and sent to Akyem Kotoku to pay allegiance to the then acting President of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council Nana Abrokwa Gyampim I
(Kontihene of Akyem Kotoku) in 1953 in the absence of the Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area.
According to them Nana Adu Korkoor II and others had some misunderstanding with Nana Frimpong Manso III (Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area) and he and the others stopped attending regular meetings of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council in 1966 even though he occasionally does attend.
They pointed out that in the 1994 Odwira Festival of the chiefs and people of Akyem Kotoku, in the brochure printed to celebrate the festival, Nana Adu Korkor II was captured.
They asserted that when he died in 2007, the family printed clothes to mourn his demise and printed on the cloth were the inscriptions “Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku”.
They maintained that There has never been a record or evidence of the title “Barima Adu Korkoor II” in the books of Adoagyiri Stool nor in the records of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council but rather Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor as chief of Adoagyiri and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku.
They asked “What has the Abuakwa state been doing since 8th November, 2007 when Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II swore the oath of allegiance to Kotokuhene, Oseadeayo Dr. Frimpong Manso IV.
They explained that the reference that Barima Adu Korkoor II sworn oath of allegiances to Akyem Abuakwahene is both criminal and distortion of facts.
They stressed that it is on record, that Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor was the Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku state and Chief of Adoagyiri. We therefore call on the Abuakwa State Secretary to go back and learn his history well.
According to them, all records in Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council clearly indicate that Kotoku Adoagyiri has three eminent chiefs, namely Ankoabeahene, Adontenhene and Akyeamehene of Akyem Kotoku State.
They fumed that, “We would like to put on record that Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II is the current occupant of the Dompreh Mpesempese stool and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku state.
They asked that “If Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin says he is the over lord of Adoagyiri, where was he when an injunction was placed on the funeral rites of the late Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor II? Where was he when the matter was later taken to Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council when the family of the late Chief pleaded to the Anima Afra family to release the injunction from the High Court of Koforidua?
They indicated that it was never true that an injunction was placed on the festival which was celebrated this year, it was rather the Thanksgiving service of the festival which the Municipal Security Committee called an emergency meeting to call off the program for security reasons due to the letter brought by Akyem Abuakwa to install a rival chief in Adoagyiri.
By the logic of the State secretary’s own analogy, we would like to know if for instance a group of Togolese or any other tribe settles on a land and decides to select a chief or leader to rule them, does it take a different chief to choose and enstool his preferred man or it is the people who decides who should be their leader?
By the same analogy, when people settle on a land, do they have to abandon their cultural practices and follow another culture as in the case of Abuakwa trying to force the people of Kotoku decent to become Abuakwa people by hoke or crook?
Furthermore, they indicated that in Ghana here, are the rules of Abuakwa superior to the 1992 constitution? If so, then what is the CULTURAL
RIGHTS AND PRACTICES 26(1) which STATES THAT ‘every person is entitled to enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the provisions of the constitution.’ doing on our books? If not, then we would like to alert that our constitutional Rights is being threatened by the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council.
They stated emphatically that, Akyem kotoku Traditional Council and Adoagyiri will not allow any installation of any new Chief in Adoagyiri by Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council.
They further warned that and any attempt by any chief to hide behind any state institution to commit this injustice will be resisted by the people and the consequences thereof will not be pleasant for all.
At this juncture, they called on the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo, Inspector General of Police, Ministry of National security, National Investigations Bureau, Eastern Regional Minister, Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious affairs, Ministry of interior, Ministry of Defence, National House of Chiefs and the Peace Council to intervene as a matter of urgency to maintain sanity in Kotoku Adoagyiri and its environs since we cherish the relative peace that we are enjoying.
According to them, there is every attempt to destabilize the peace in the community but “We are ready to die with their landguards. We learnt they are coming again on Saturday, we are sending a strong signal to them, to the Police Commander not to dare us. They must not try our patience.”
Odekyee Kronkron Nana Kwabena Agyemang also called on the Omanhene of Kotoku to rise up and support Adoagyiri in this fight.
