Tribunal orders Akyeamehene to surrender linguist staff

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 11 Nov. '98 A Kumasi Circuit Tribunal yesterday ordered Nana Adunya Safia, Akyeamehene to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Opoku Ware the second, to surrender two linguist staffs in his possession to an assayer to determine the purity of the substances that they are made of.

The tribunal, chaired by Mr Joseph A. Abanga, gave the order after consulting with the Asantehene to seek his permission for the customary retrieval of the two linguist staffs from the accused person for the tests.

It asked the accused person to comply by surrendering the staffs to be sent to the assayer by the police accompanied by the accused and the secretary to Asantehene.

The tribunal said the testing should be done in the presence of the accused the Asantehene's representative and the results brought to the court at its next sitting on Tuesday, December eight.

Nana Safia appeared before the tribunal for allegedly stealing two linguist staffs namely "Pentemfrem Omene Osono" and "Asempa Ye Tia" both decorated with pure gold, property of the Ekuona Clan headed by Opanin Kwame Berko.

The Pentemfrem Omene Osono" is valued at 50 million cedis while the "Asempa ye Tia" is yet to be valued.

Nana Safia pleaded not guilty to the charge and is on 50 million cedis bail with two sureties and a lease to be justified.

The tribunal made the order when it upheld an application by the prosecutor, Police Chief Inspector Fabian K. Afesi, that the police have on several occasions requested the accused to produce the two linguist staffs for testing but he has not complied.

Mr Obeng Manu Junior, counsel for the accused, objected to an application that some rituals should be performed before the staffs could be taken out into the open but this was overruled.

Chief Inspector Afesi, prosecuting, told the tribunal that in 1992, the accused was enstooled as chief linguist of the Asantehene after the death of Nana Nsuase Poku and all properties of the stool, including the two staffs, were handed over to him..

He said during his tenure of office, the accused changed the symbols made of gold which were on top of the staffs to another substance in fake gold known as 'abyssinia' but this later came to light.

The prosecutor said on August 12, 1995, there was an occasion when other linguists were to be sworn-in which required the accused to produce the two staffs. When they were inspected by Opanin Kwame Berko, head of the Ekuona Clan, he found that the staffs were not in their original form.

Chief Inspector Afesi said the Asantehene was informed accordingly and he instructed that the case should be reported to the police.

He said investigations revealed that the symbol on top of the "Pentemfrem Omene Osono" staff, made of pure gold valued at about 50 million cedis, has been changed from that of an elephant to that of a frog. On the basis of this the accused was charged with the offence.