After denying receiving a US$150,000 cheque earmarked for the development of Banka in the Asante-Akyem South constituency, for ten years, Osabarima Twiampoma III, the chief of Banka, has finally admitted to committing larceny. On November 10, 2021. Osabarima Twiampoma ‘confessed’ to receiving Stanbic Cheque No. 534403 in the presence of His Majesty, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, information gathered indicates.
A statement from the Concerned Youth of Banka indicated that while Osabarima Twiampoma’s admission came as a shock to His Majesty and his royal advisors, the disclosure did not startle the citizens of Banka, who for eighteen years have endured chronic stealing, expropriation and sale of lands, delusions of grandeur, egocentricity, lies, violence, and profanities under (the misrule of) Osabarima Twiampoma.
Confronted with a copy of the cashed cheque and a ‘disputed’ receipt, Osabarima Twiampoma sought to mitigate his crime by recounting ‘imaginary’ projects that he has undertaken since becoming the chief of Banka. Osabarima Twiampoma could not provide certifiable receipts when he was granted the opportunity to challenge the charges leveled against him.
On 15 November, 2021, Bankaman filed a ‘writ of summons’ with the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council. In the application, the petitioner, Nana Yeboah, sought the following reliefs:
- A declaration that the respondent [Osabarima Twiampoma] . . . acted in gross aberration of his Chieftaincy Oath and is therefore unfit to hold himself as a chief.
- An order [be] directed at the respondent to refund the USD 150,000 to the accredited stool elders of Banka.
- An order [be] directed at the respondent to remove himself and to surrender . . . the Banka palace to the accredited stool elders of Banka.
- An order [be] directed at the respondent to render a public apology to the people of Banka.
- Cost of this suit be refunded by the respondent if he is found liable.
- Any other order or orders as may be deemed fit.
On 16th November, 2021, the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council wrote to the litigating parties inviting them to attend a court hearing at “Ofori Panin Fie,” at Kyebi, on 13 December, 2021. Bankaman’s pursuit of justice, using legal means, demonstrates the community’s enduring trust in His Majesty, and in the customary laws of “Nananom,” i.e., that a chief who commits in a criminal act, and who errantly drags his victims through a protracted, and a painful, litigation, with the aim to undermine efforts to settle the matter peacefully, is unfit to ‘hold himself’ as such’ and must, thus, be destooled without remedy.
We thank His Majesty, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, for granting Bankaman a hearing it urgently needs and rightly deserves.
Author(s): Concerned Youth—Justice for the Development of Banka.
