The High Court in Kumasi has granted an order restraining the Registrar of the National House of Chiefs from processing or gazetting Mr. Yaw Kwapong as Paramount Chief of the Worawora Traditional Area pending the resolution of ongoing chieftaincy disputes.
The ruling was delivered by Her Ladyship Justice Enid Marful-Sau in the case titled The Republic v Registrar of National House of Chiefs (Respondent), Ex-parte Abusuapanin Osei Kwame, Obaapanin Ama Pokua Nyarko, Nana Ama Nyarko Noah (Applicants) and Mr. Yaw Kwapong (Interested Party), Suit No. E10/04/26.
The application, filed on May 7, 2026, sought an order of prohibition against the National House of Chiefs to prevent the entry of Mr. Kwapong’s name into the National Register of Chiefs as Paramount Chief of Worawora while disputes over his legitimacy remain unresolved.
According to the Applicants, who describe themselves as natives, elders, and kingmakers of the Adako Royal Family of Worawora, the Interested Party does not belong to the rightful royal lineage qualified to occupy the stool.
They argued before the court that succession to the Worawora Stool is traditionally matrilineal and that Mr. Kwapong neither belongs to the matrilineal nor patrilineal line of the Adako Royal Family.
Court documents further revealed that the dispute over the Worawora stool had earlier been referred to the Asantehene for customary arbitration at Manhyia Palace in October 2025.
The Applicants stated that following proceedings before the Asantehene, a directive was allegedly issued for the Queen Mother to install a qualified royal in an interim capacity pending investigations into the rightful line of succession.
However, the Applicants contend that despite the ongoing arbitration and petitions before the Judicial Committee of the Oti Regional House of Chiefs, steps were allegedly being taken to gazette Mr. Kwapong as Paramount Chief.
According to the court filings, the Oti Regional House of Chiefs had either processed or was in the process of forwarding Chieftaincy Declaration Forms for the Interested Party to the National House of Chiefs for entry into the National Register of Chiefs.
The Applicants argued that such actions were “premature, unlawful, and calculated to overreach the pending adjudicatory processes.”
They maintained that any attempt to process and gazette the Interested Party while disputes remain unresolved would interfere with the administration of justice and improperly confer legitimacy on what they described as an unlawful enstoolment.
The Applicants also relied on provisions under the 1992 Constitution and the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759), arguing that although the National House of Chiefs is not a court, its administrative actions remain subject to judicial review where they affect pending disputes.
In her judgment, Justice Enid Marful-Sau held that the application was properly brought under Order 55 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47), which governs judicial review applications, including orders of prohibition.
The court concluded that the circumstances justified the exercise of its supervisory jurisdiction.
“Accordingly, this is a proper case for the grant of an order of Prohibition to restrain Respondent from proceeding to process and enter the name of the Interested Party in the National Register of Chiefs pending the final determination of the disputes relating to the Worawora Stool,” the judgment stated.
The court subsequently granted an order restraining the Respondent, its agents, privies, or assigns from “processing, forwarding, or in any manner entering the name of the Interested Party in the National Register of Chiefs for the purpose of gazetting him as the Paramount Chief of the Worawora Traditional Area.”
The ruling further clarified that the restraint would remain in force until petitions before the Judicial Committee of the Oti Regional House of Chiefs and the related customary arbitration proceedings before the Asantehene are conclusively determined.
The case is expected to have significant implications for the intersection of customary arbitration, chieftaincy administration, and judicial oversight in Ghana’s traditional governance system.
