Gomoa kingmakers angry

Members of the Nsona Royal Family of Gomoa Buduatta and kingmakers of the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council in the Gomoa West District of the Central region are angry with the Omanhene of the area, Obirifo Ahunako Ankobia Ahor II.

This follows the latter’s decision to have rejected the queen mother the kingmakers chose for him.

According to them (kingmakers), the Omanhene’s action was tantamount to disrespect as they claimed they were the rightful people to enstool and destool kings.

“We are the very same people who nominated and enstooled him as the Omanhene in the year 2000 so for him to tell us the queen mother we have chosen was not properly selected is an insult to us,” the kingmakers averred.

Consequently, they called for reversion of the decision to allow peace to prevail in the area.

They indicated that since the late queen mother, Nana Adadzewa, died in 2002, the throne had not been occupied as tradition demanded and for that matter did not agree with the Omanhene’s rejection of Madam Mary Brakwaa Barnes, who is a domestic bursar at Aggrey Memorial Zion Senior High School (SHS) in Cape Coast as the queen mother.

A source within the royal family (name withheld) in an exclusive interview with Today, disclosed that the Omanhene’s disapproval of Madam Barnes as his queen was on the grounds that she was not properly nominated, a claim that the source flatly denied.

The source explained that when the late queen mother passed on in 2002, the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council sent a team of chiefs led by Nana Ephraim to demand a queen mother from the royal gate.

The source disclosed that per the customs and traditions of the land, the kingmakers and elders of the royal family met and unanimously nominated Madam Barnes and did all the necessary rites for her as a queen mother.

The source continued that on the day Madam Barnes was supposed to be introduced to the traditional council to be sworn in, a member of the other three gates to the stool, Opanyin Kwesi Atta (now deceased) raised an objection that it was his gate’s turn to select a queen mother and therefore would not allow her to be sworn in as a queen mother.

Opanyin Atta the source recounted sent the case to court but the case was put to rest when he passed on.

The source added that another member of the same gate where the late Opanyin Atta belonged, Nana Kwaku Tawiah (also deceased) also raised an objection and took up the matter to the Central Regional House of Chiefs but he later discontinued the case which situation paved the way for the kingmakers to send Madam Barnes again to the traditional council.

The source further alleged that the Omanhene’s refusal of Madam Barnes as his queen mother was the fact her (Madam Barnes) husband is a lawyer and for that matter would “lawfully” guide and protect his wife from any unnecessary manipulation.

The source revealed that in May this year, the kingmakers sent a letter to the traditional council informing them that May 22, 2015 would be the swearing in of Madam Barnes as the queen mother for the area.

However, this paper learnt that the Omanhene opposed it through a response from his lawyer to the kingmakers.