Destoolment of Adaesinahene Quashed

A Kumasi High Court has quashed by an order of certiorari, the destoolment of Nana Antwi Boasiako, Adaesinahene by Nana Kwame Owusu-Agyemang, Antoahene.

The court said the purported destoolment of Adaesinahene by Nana Owusu-Agyemang and his privies without recourse to the procedures mandated by the Chieftaincy Act was done without jurisdiction as being contrary to the provisions of Act 370 and Legislative Instrument (LI) 798.

The court presided by Justice Francis Kusi-Appiah said the Antoahene's conduct was offensive to section 15 of Act 370 and LI 798 and its proceedings whether oral or written and whether they culminated in any decision or not, were in like manner void.

"I hold that the purported destoolment of the applicant was itself also void and the same is brought up for the purpose of being quashed by an order of certiorari", the Judge said and awarded one million cedis cost against the Antoahene.

The court observed that the Antoahene should have laid a charge against the applicant before an appropriate traditional council, which in turn, would have appointed a judicial committee to go into the matter.

"This, he failed to do and instead assumed the said jurisdiction," the Judge noted. The applicant in his statement of claim sought a relief to a writ of certiorari to remove the oral proceedings and order of Antoahene made at his palace at Antoa, culminating in proclamation of his destoolment.

In an affidavit supporting his claim, Nana Antwi Boasiako said he was enstooled as Adaesinahene in 1988 and swore the oath of allegiance to his traditional overlord, the Antoahene.

He said according to tradition, he permitted Mr Anthony Kwaku Poku to swear the oath of affirmation and allegiance to him as chief of Krobo a few years ago with the intention of leading him to swear to Antoahene as soon as one was installed since the stool was then vacant.

He explained that according to tradition, the Krobo stool, belonging to a Krobo town, was a twin with Adaesina and, therefore, swears oath of allegiance and affirmation to the Adaesina stool before being taken to Antoa and to the Golden Stool in Kumasi.

Nana Antwi Boasiako said six months later after he had sworn in Mr Poku as chief of Krobo, Nana Owusu-Agyemang was enstooled, the latter invited him but he could not convince him of the case. He said on 13 February 2001, he was summoned by Antoahene to his palace and ordered his attendants to assault him and told them to remove his sandals to signify his destoolment.