Queenmother of Adjena-Tafoman destooled over installation of a non-royal as chief

The elders of Adjena-Tafoman in the Eastern Region have destooled the queen mother of the Traditional Area following her installation of a non-royal as chief of the area.

Nana Okorwa IV’s 35-year reign as queenmother was abrogated on Monday, September 30, 2024 after she installed Osaberima Nana Appiah Boadu to the position.

The elders say their actions were necessitated by the action of the queenmother despite a court mandamus instructing the Akwamu Traditional Council to recognise the legitimacy of the incumbent Chief, Nana Twum Barimah III.

Other accusations leveled against Nana Okorwa were her failure to initiate development in the community,, disregard for the elders of the community and insubordination.

Her destoolment was pronounced on Monday, September, 30, 2024, before a durbar of the elders and people at Adjena.

Nana Okorwa, on the 23rd of September, 2024, served notice of the destoolment of the chief of Adjena-Tafoman, Nana Twum Barimah III and in his place, installed Osaberima Nana Appiah Boadu.

However, the elders questioning the authority of the queen mother to destool the chief, declared her actions as null and void.

Abrewatia for Adjena-Tafoman, Adwoa Asimaniwaa said Nana Okorwa has also failed to undertake any major developmental initiatives during her 35 years reign as queen mother of Adjena-Tafoman, a situation that has left the community in a state of underdevelopment.

She was also accused of disrespecting elders of the community by consistently refusing to heed a summon to appear before the Abrewatia and elders of the community.

“She (queen mother doesn’t respect the chief, Abusuapanyin and elders of the community…we’re not happy about this, she doesn’t respect the Mrewatia, she takes decisions and actions without recourse to anybody,” the Abrewatia told the gathering.

She further said, “She (queen mother) has no recognition for the chiefs, elders and Abusuapanyin…she has no respect for the Abrewatia, she does things without resorting to authority.".

She was also accused of occasionally disposing off Stool property without recourse to the elders and also failing to account for revenue accrued from stool lands during her entire reign.

According to the elders, Nana Okorwa is also seeking a court injunction, demanding that all monies relating to the building of the palace be deposited into her personal count

The queenmother has also been accused of greed and pursuing personal interests ahead of the community’s, including depositing some Ghc200,000 of compensation funds for the community into her personal accounts and also demanding an amount of GHC 5,000 before agreeing to cut sod for commencement of works for the construction of the palace.

Accusing Nana Okorwa of not having even a single developmental project to her name during her 35-year reign, an elder chided, “You’ve occupied the stool for the past thirty-five years but have nothing to show for it, not even a public toilet…you misappropriated every amount that have come to you since your enstoolment.”

A ram was subsequently slaughtered to signify the destoolment process. Amankrado of the Abretia, Alice Addo emphasizing the actions of the elders said, “We the Mmrewatia together with our Abusuapanyin hereby present this ram for the ritual to signify that she’s no longer our queen mother…we hereby declare that we can no longer work with her and so we have destooled her.”

Abusuapnayin of Adjena-Tafoman, Asante Agyapong on his part, warned Nana Okorwa against further holding herself as queen mother of the area, warning that persons who associate with her will face the wrath of the elders.

“From today, if she holds any gathering here and we see anybody following her, we shall take you on,” he cautioned.

He highlighted the bad road network running through the community which he said adversely affected the socio-economic progress of Adjena.

To fill the void created by the destoolment, the Abrewatia, Obaapanyin Adwoa Asimaniwaa was nominated to temporarily act as queenmother of the area until a substantive replacement is made.

Accepting her new responsibility, the new Acting queenmother expressed her willingness to serve until a new queen mother is enstooled.

Achievements of Nana Twum Barimah III

Backing Nana Twum Barimah's, various critical developmental projects initiated by the chief to address the dire needs of the Adjena community were outlined.

These include the construction of a modern police station, a new palace and a water system to address the needs of the community.

The chief was also commended for his acts of benevolence to the community, judiciously committing community and personal resources to the development of Adjena-Tafoman.

“This is a chief who has Adjena at heart, he’s a unifier, he’s interested in the welfare of the youth,” one elder observed.

Queenmother’s response

When reached for her reaction to the destoolment, Nana Osabarima who spoke on her behalf questioned the authority of the elders to destool the queenmother.

“She is the queenmother of Adjena, nobody can destool her, those who were making those noise are persons, they’re not kingmakers, if you have any issues with her, it’s only her kingmakers who can talk to her…and even you have to try her in a competent court of jurisdiction for her to be found guilty before you can do anything to her."