Chiefs asked to maintain a good image

Koforidua, Aug. 29, GNA - The Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Dr Oti Boateng, has urged chiefs and members of royal families to ensure that their utterances and behaviour in public enhanced the chieftaincy institution.

He reminded them that as community leaders, who society looked up to for exemplary behaviour, anything negative about them would go a long way to promote indiscipline and chaos.

Addressing a meeting of the Traditional Council at Koforidua on Monday, Daasebre Oti Boateng noted with concern recent negative reports about the utterances of some royal family members from the area, at times on the airwaves, which he noted, were soiling the image of the chieftaincy institution and people of the area.

He called on royals, who contested stools but lost their bid, to comport themselves in public instead of resorting to lies, character assassination and witch-hunting "since it could back-fire against them, when they re-seek the stools again."

Daasebre Oti Boateng, in particular advised Odehye Grace Afua Saah and her son, Odehye Topen Serebour, both of whom, lost their bids to be queen and Omanhene of the area, respectively, to ensure that they safeguarded the image of the Yiadom Hwedie Stool in their public utterances.

He recalled that it was a Government White Paper in 1992 on the report of a committee of enquiry into the chieftaincy matters in the area, which debarred Odehye Topen Serebour from being enstooled as Omanhene due to his alleged misbehaviour, while in confinement.

On Odyehe Afua Saah, Daasebre said, since it was the prerogative of the Omanhene in the Akan tradition to select a queen, she should remain calm "till God's time comes her way".

As to when the final funeral rites for the late queen, Nana Juaben Serwaa, who died in 1999 would be performed, he attributed the delay to the alleged intransigence of Odehye Afua Saah, who he said had rejected the interventions of the leadership of the Local Council of Churches with the condition that the rites would only be performed, if she was made the queen.

He hinted, however that, the traditional council was making frantic efforts to organize the funeral rites and cautioned that, until this was done, Odehye Afua Saah should cease processing any letters of administration over the late queen's property or breach the law. 29 Aug. 06