Kumawuman Citizens Living Abroad (KCLA) has cautioned the King of Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to refrain from imposing a new chief on the people of Kumawuman but rather use his good office to ensure that justice and fairness is attained in the enstoolment process.
To them, Manhyia and Asanteman’s interest and open bias towards the Queen mother and the intimidation that was exhibited against the Kumawu Kurontihene, Akwamuhene, Nifahene, Aduanahene and Anananya Abusuapayin in the Kumawu chieftaincy issue was alarming and disappointing, and the earlier the Asante King backs off the better.
According to a statement released by the group in, the act of imposing a new chief on the people has the tendency of retarding the developmental agenda of the area, reminding Manhyia, the Queen mother of Kumawu, Nana Serwaa Amponsah, and all interest groups in the chieftaincy row about a similar event that happened some years ago which brought untold hardships to the citizenry.
They said the selection and subsequent installation of 47-year-old Dr. Yaw Sarfo, as paramount chief of Kumawu, was unlawful because it fell short of due process and contravened established customary practices and traditions of the area.
The group further noted that due to the gross disregard for due process of the law by Manhyia and Nana Serwaa Amponsah, they have no option than to reject the newly installed chief outright, after monitoring events in the area.
“We reject the candidature of Yaw Sarfo and call on the king makers to start the process of selection, acceptance and installation of an eligible candidate to occupy the Kodua Stool. This would be the only way for all citizens both home and abroad to accept and support the chief to bring progress and prosperity to the traditional area,” noted the group.
In October 2014, the people of Kumawu witnessed the selection and subsequent installation of Dr. Yaw Sarfo as the Paramount Chief of the traditional area under the stool name Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, by the Queen mother of Kumawu and some elders of the area with the support of Manhyia.
Dr. Sarfo’s enthronement was, however, challenged by some feuding factions of the traditional area who accused the Queen mother and Manhyia among other, of ignoring the customary consultations of the land.
Not even a call on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by the feuding factions could halt the installation process after Abusuapanin Kwaku Gyekyei of Odumasi Aduana Royal Family and Opanin Kwabena Kodua, Principal Member of Anananya Royal Family of Kumawu, had gone to court to appeal against an earlier ruling that dismissed their plea for a motion for an order of certiorari and of prohibition filed against Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asanteman Council, Nana Serwaa Amponsah, Dr. Yaw Sarfo and three others, from embarking on their plans.
Having felt they’ve been handed a raw deal, the feuding factions on Monday, January 12, 2015, also installed a rival chief in the person of John Kwasi Oduro, a telecommunications technician, believed to be a royal from the matrilineal lineage of Barima Tweneboah Kodua I. Mr. Oduro who comes from the Anananya Royal Family was given a stool name, Barimah Tweneboa Kodua V.
This event heightened security concerns in the area, especially, in the heart of the traditional community, compelling the police to move to avert a possible clash between the feuding factions.
This development coupled with others, the group argued, has the tendency of stifling development in the area.
To them, never in the history of Kumawu has Manhyia meddled in the installation of a new chief of the area and, therefore, wondered why it has this time around shown keen interest and gone ahead to manipulate the process which has plunged the entire traditional area into chaos.
“We want to point out to the whole world that Asanteman does not select and install a chief for Kumawuman. It has never been heard or done before in the history of this great traditional area. The age old tradition is that, anytime the Kodua Stool becomes vacant, the Queen mother selects a deserving candidate and presents him to the kingmakers of Kumawuman who will in turn conduct background check or investigations about his legitimacy or otherwise. The process has never been conducted in front of Asanteman with the Otumfuo sitting in State, never,” they explained in the two-page statement.
That notwithstanding, they wondered why Manhyia could even accept a candidate who was allegedly embroiled in bribery and corruption, leading to his enthronement as the chief of the area.
Commenting further, the group condemned the continuous sidelining of the Anananya and other royal families who are rightfully qualified, from also occupying the Kodua Stool and urged Asanteman to be guided by events that lead to the Dagbon impasse.
“The developments in Dagbon and several other areas where one royal household or lineage is given prominence over the other for a long time should serve as a very good lesson for Asanteman to follow. The old age mutual non-written agreement where a legitimate candidate from another royal household is chosen to occupy the Kodua Stool when it becomes vacant should not be taken for granted and trampled upon by the Asanteman traditional Council”, the group observed.
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