Asafo group denies Omanhehe's claims

The Amanfo Asafo Group, a faction in the Winneba chieftaincy dispute on Monday said the interview Nana Kobina Ghartey, Omanhene of the area granted the Ghanaian Times on the violence that erupted at this year's Aboakyer Festival was false and unfounded.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, Nana Otubua Siripi II, Spokesperson of the Group, said it was not true that the Priestess was arrested for performing rituals at the shrine normally used for the Sunday sacrifices after the festival as reported by the Omanhene.

He said the Police personnel were there to stop the rituals and to take away the animal meant for the sacrifice because the Omanhene's catch was not used for the said rituals and invited the Priestess to assist in investigations.

Nana Siripi said the Omanhene was considered unclean because he did not meet the requirement and conditions of a chief of the traditional area and, therefore, any time he stepped on the catch, it brought bad omen to the people of the area.

"It was to avert any calamity that, we decided to perform the rites this year to do away with the bad omen in our mist. “The Priestess, therefore, performed an accepted ritual that replaced the stepping on the catch by the Omanhene but this did not go down well with him".

He denied that the Priestess took advantage of the absence of the proper Priestess of the royal family to perform the rites unlawfully, adding that the one who performed the rites had been doing it for the past 40 years.

Nana Siripi, however, said though the catch stepped on by the Chief was the accepted one it did not go through the right procedure hence its rejection by the people of the area.

The shrine he noted had also not been deserted due to the hostile attitude of the people as reported by the Omanhene, but rather the shrine was deserted after the rituals were performed till the following year.

The Chief's palace had not come under any attack, he said, and added that it was unfortunate for the Chief to make such unfounded statement to the media. He advised the media to crosscheck their facts to enable the public to make their own informed judgement of the situation.