Sekyere chiefs react to "Mmaa nkomo" story

Kumasi, April 20, GNA - The chiefs and elders of Sekyere-Kontonkyi in the Sekyere Afram Plains District of Ashanti Region have said it was a historical fact that the present day land which is being occupied by the people of Asante Mampong was given to them by the Sekyerehene.

They have therefore described as untrue a statement said to have been made by Madam Afia Ansaa Ampene, host of the "Mmaa Nkomo" programme, on Ghana television that it was the Kofiasehene who gave the land to the Mamponghene to settle on.

Nana Kumanin Addo, Adontenhene of Sekyere-Kontonkyi, told the GNA on Monday that the reaction was to correct the erroneous impression and set the historical records straight for future generations to know the true facts in connection with Sekyere lands. Miss Ampene is said to have stated in an answer to a question during a meeting with the Sekyere Kroye kuo in Italy last year that the present day settlement of the people of Asante Mampong was given to them by the Kofiasehene.

The programme, which was first broadcast last year, was repeated on Ghana television on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. According to Nana Kumanin Addo, it was a historical fact that lands which stretch from Sekyere-Kontonkyi to Sanwakyi, near Amanten in Brong-Ahafo Region and which is being occupied by the chiefs and people of the Sekyere East and Sekyere West, Sekyere Afram Plains and Sekyere Central belonged to the Sekyerehene.

This fact, he said, had never been disputed and was important that it remained sacrosanct for future generations. Nana Kumanin Addo said the statement sought to create a false historical impression that the chiefs and elders as well as the people were not happy with and therefore needed to set the records straight. 20 April 09