A group called Justice and Development of Banka, which represents the people of Banka has strongly responded and rejected the orders of Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori-Panin pertaining to the Banka Chieftaincy impasse.
Setting the records straight in response to a letter sent by the Okyehene in a bid to call for restoration of order , the group led by Kwadwo Appiah, The Executive Director and Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiahwe (Odauhene) criticized the Okyehene for being selective in dealing with the chieftaincy matters in Banka and urged him to be fair and just as required of the overlord of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional council.
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March 6, 2025
Attention: The Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council
Ofori Panin Fie
Kyebi – Eastern Region
Banka Chieftaincy Impasse: Request to Restore Order
In response to your letter reference No. AATC/RF/O6/2025, dated March 4, 2025, we, the members of Justice and Development of Banka, wish to correct the inaccuracies in the document. There is no impasse at Banka as alleged by Nana Basahyia Anina Framo, the destooled Queen mother of Banka.
As indigenes, our experience with the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council has been inglorious. One such example is the Council stringing along the citizens of Banka to attend hearings regarding an allegation of criminal appropriation of US$150, 000 (One and Fifty Thousand Dollars) by Osabarima Twiampoma III to have the matter dismissed by Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin for lack of jurisdiction.
On 17 January 2022, six indigenes, Kwabena Kwakye, Kwadwo Yeboah, Kofi Obeng, Kofi Amponsah, Kwaku Kodua, and Kwabena Kwening, were arrested on false charges by the Kyebi Police. They were stripped naked in police cells. Their pictures were posted on the WhatsApp platform belonging to the Chiefs of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council. These pictures were later distributed by Nana Basahyia Amina Framo in violation of the Cyber Security Act.
The complainant in the matter referenced above, Nana Basahyia Anima Framo is a fraud, an imposter, and a narcissist with delusions of grandeur. She was enstooled by Osabarima Twiampoma III with complete disregard for traditional protocols. She was not nominated by the Aduana family of Banka nor the head of the family, the late Opanin Kofi Domina Bamfo. On a more serious note, her gazette application does not bear the signatures of Osabarima Twiampoma III and Abusuapanin Kofi Domina Bamfo.
The Council’s decision to entrust Banka to Nana Frama without granting Osabarima Twiampoma III a fair hearing raises questions about the Council’s bias and obsession with quick fixes. If your letter is a document to go by, it is riddled with contradictions.
In paragraph 4 of your letter, you stated that the “Council is informed of the initiation of processes regarding the ineligibility of Osabarima Twiampoma III as the chief of Banka.” I infer from your statement that until Osabarima Twiampoma’s gazette is annulled, his destoolment of Nana Framo and accredited sub-chiefs is legal. The contradiction is, at what point did a legal act performed by Osabarima Twiampoma III as part of his traditional duties become an illegality?
In your haste to side with one party, i.e., Nana Framo, against the other, i.e., Osabarima Twiampoma III, the Council has reinforced our negative perception of its members; a coterie of fossilized cretins with little credibility. To redeem whatever is left of your residual authority and battered image, we ask you to address the following questions:
Does the Nana Framo have a maternal family in Banka? How much did she pay Osabarima Twiampma III to become the Queen mother? How many civil and criminal court cases has she filed against the youth and the Aduana family of Banka? How many cases has she filed with the police against the youth of Banka? Is she a party to a chieftaincy dispute currently pending at Boadua? Did she recently spurn the directive of the Regional Police Commander of Asante Bekwai instructing her not to organize a festival; a backdoor move to install a chief without consulting the royal family? Did she disregard Osagefo Amoatia Ofori Panin’s directive to withdraw a lawsuit at the Accra High Court against the youth of Banka? Did she turn down a summon by Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi, Odaumanhene to resolve the matter between her and the Aduana family of Banka?
With growing complaints regarding illegal mining at Banka, the arrests of the youth and the abuse of police escorts by Nana Framo, never did the Council show an interest in the plight of Banka except when it was time to treat her as a milch cow or the proverbial hen that lays the golden egg, for example, an extortive demand that thirty percent of the US$150,000 earmarked for the development of the town be paid as royalty to the Council.
Bearing in mind the devolution of powers in the mechanics of governance in traditional governance, we question the motivations behind the Council’s invitation of the concerned parties to address the matter at Kyebi, where Nana Framo was born, and not Etwereso. By turning customs on the head, the Council knows where its bread is buttered, i.e., another payday to bend the arch of the law with little consideration for the consequences of the depraved actions of the Council on Banka.
For years, the citizens of Banka have watched in extreme pain repeated attempts by the Council to impose its whims on us without consultation and deference. It is the collective opinion, therefore, of the citizens of Banka that we have never been afforded the same respect accorded Asamankese, Nsawam, Apedwa, and towns under the dominion of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council. Per historical/archival records, Banka was never a part of the Akyem Abuakwa dominion. For this reason, we ask that she be left alone from hereon to chart her course without interference from the Council. We ask that the Council rescind its decision, treat the allegation by Nana Anima Framo as a case of another frivolity, withdraw the letter, and follow established protocols, i.e., a referral of the matter to Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi. This letter will be one of many to be published in the nation’s newspapers to correct the pretences at the Council to compel members to act within the ambit of the law.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Kwadwo Appiah – The Executive Director – Justice and Development of Banka.
CC
Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiahwe (Odauhene)
