Queen Mothers charge against destoolment of Paramount Queen of Manya Krobo

The Manya Krobo Queen Mothers Association has given the Overlord of the Manya Krobo Traditional Area and the Kingmakers of Area, the Odumase Council, a seven-day ultimatum, effective Thursday, May 21, 2020 to reinstate the destooled paramount queen mother of the Area.

The 71-member association in reacting to the destoolment of Nana Aplam II on Thursday, May 21, 2020 said Nene Sakite II and the Odumase Council must rescind the decision taken against the Paramount Queen Mother within the stipulated time or be prepared to “hear from them” if they failed to heed their demand.

The agitations of the queen mothers come on the heels of the destoolment of the Queen Mother on Monday, May 11, 2020, an act the queen mothers described as unfair and dictatorial.

The determined queens speaking with one voice questioned the arbitrary decision of the Kingmakers, allegedly with the backing of the Paramount Chief and maintained that the deposed queen mother had the right to fair hearing.

“Destooling the Paramount Queen without any fair hearing for whatever deeds or misdeeds that occasioned her destoolment smacks of injustice,” argued Manye Ami Bordor II, queen mother of Agomanya. “Even a murderer has the right to fair hearing.”

The queen mothers also accused the Konor and the Council of failing to consult the queen mothers in taking its “hasty” decision.

“We slept one day and woke up and it was in the air that our queen mother has been destooled. They did not give us any reasons, we only heard it in the air, on the internet, social media,” Manye Ami Bordor II lamented and placed a passionate call to the chief to reinstate Nana Aplam II.

“We are begging him, he is our chief. All that the Manya Krobo Queen Mothers Association is telling Nene Konor and the Odumase Council is to reinstate our queen mother for us.”

She argued further that the charges levelled against Nana Aplam were untrue and accused the traditional authorities of disuniting the people instead of bringing them together, adding that the group was prepared to pursue the issue to The Hague.

“If the need be that we pursue this case to The Hague, we will do it,” she said.

Divisional Queen Mother of Piengua, Manye Narkuor II praised the leadership qualities of Nana Aplam II during her five years reign and wondered what informed the decision to destool her.

She charged all women advocacy groups in the country to support their cause as they would remain unwavering in their demand for justice for Nana Aplam II.

The Queen Mothers described Nana Aplam II as a hardworking Queen who has discharged her duties satisfactorily by all standards and maintained that the group will not serve any new queen mother to be installed as replacement of the dethroned queen.

The “unprecedented” decision, they argued was strange and a dent on the image of the traditional area which had the potential to disrupt the peace, unity and development the Area was currently enjoying and called on all indigenes of Kroboland around the world step in and support them to restore order in the Area.

Background

The immediate destoolment of Nana Aplam II was announced to her by the Odumase Council before a meeting of chiefs and elders of the Area on Monday, May 11, 2020 at Odumase Krobo.

Though sources linked her destoolment to orders from Nene Sakite following her recent marriage to a man from a Division which has severed ties with the Paramountcy, a statement released by the Odumase Council on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 sought to absolve the Konor from any involvement in the destoolment process, explaining instead that the action taken against her was based on poor performance.

Meanwhile, another Queen Mother, Adome Djase has been appointed to act as queen mother while the installation of a new queen pends.