Yilo Krobo chiefs notify House of Chiefs of alleged self-destoolment of Paramount Chief

Correspondence from the Eastern Region

The Yilo Krobo Traditional Area in the Eastern Region has been plunged into a major chieftaincy dispute following a formal notification by the Council of Divisional Chiefs to the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, alleging the self-destoolment of the Paramount Chief of Yilo Krobo, Tetteh Kofi Romeo, known in traditional circles as Oklepeme Nuer Anorbah Sasraku II.

In a detailed petition dated 15 December 2025, the divisional chiefs accuse the Paramount Chief of committing multiple acts that, under Krobo customary law, constitute serious taboos and amount to automatic abdication from the paramount stool.

The notice, submitted from Somanya, is supported by video recordings, documents, and customary precedents, according to the chiefs.

At the heart of the petition is the customary principle that any chief who violates sacred traditions and taboos of the land effectively disqualifies himself from occupying the stool.

The divisional chiefs referenced a previous customary ruling delivered by Oklepeme Nuer Anorbah Sasraku II himself in an earlier chieftaincy matter, which affirmed that a chief who commits a taboo has, by that act, abdicated.

Among the major allegations is the failure of the Paramount Chief to perform essential stool rites for over ten years.

The chiefs claim he cancelled obligatory ancestral rituals, including libation pouring, sheep sacrifices, and other sacred ceremonies traditionally observed during state festivals and special occasions.

They further allege that he publicly denounced schnapps, an indispensable ritual element in Krobo tradition, describing it as demonic and destroying bottles of it in public, actions said to be captured on video.

The petition also accuses the Paramount Chief of cursing the divisional chiefs, an act regarded as a grave taboo under Krobo custom.

According to the chiefs, during a public religious event, he declared that any chief who performed traditional stool rites would suffer the death of a wife or firstborn child.

Customary law forbids chiefs from invoking curses on their subjects, and the act is described as a desecration of the sacred authority of the stool.

One of the most serious allegations involves the destruction of the Kuntu, the sacred ancestral altar and spiritual heart of the Yilo State. The Kuntu is traditionally revered as a consecrated space where essential rites have been performed for generations.

The chiefs allege that the Paramount Chief dug into and destroyed the altar, an act they describe as unprecedented and spiritually devastating to the Yilo people.

Further compounding the matter is an alleged public renunciation of the throne.

On 9 November 2025, the chiefs claim that during a church programme, Oklepeme Nuer Anorbah Sasraku II openly declared that he was no longer interested in the throne and invited his family head and the people of Yilo to take it. Under Krobo custom, such a declaration is considered a clear act of abdication.

The divisional chiefs also allege the desecration of the linguist staff (tsɔmi tsɔ), a sacred symbol of state authority traditionally handled only by an installed linguist.

They claim the staff was repeatedly handed to a pastor during public activities, an act deemed an abomination.

Speaking in an interview, the Secretary to the Divisional Chiefs and Chief of Okper, Nene Anyeenorgu Teye Agor IX, said several attempts were made to engage the Paramount Chief to address the concerns, but he failed to appear before the Traditional Council.

An extraordinary council meeting was subsequently convened, during which 14 out of 20 members present, including divisional chiefs, sub-chiefs and queen mothers, unanimously ruled that the Paramount Chief, per his actions, had engaged in self-destoolment.

The chiefs have since appointed Nene Amoatey Akpatsu Azza VI, Divisional Chief of Nyewer, as Acting President of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Council pending the enstoolment of a new Paramount Chief.

Rituals to formally proclaim the destoolment were conducted publicly at the Akutunya lorry park in Somanya, following an extraordinary meeting of the Traditional Council held at the Royal Hotel in Somanya.

The Paramount Linguist, Otsiami Atigli, poured libation to symbolize the action which was subsequently followed by the slaughtering of a ram.

Five out of the six Divisional Chiefs in Yilo Krobo, including Nene Anyeenogu Teye Agor IX of Okper, Nene Wetse Saki II of Ogome, Nene Narh Ogbordjor Agbo III of Bunase and Nene Djaba Agbleze IV of Plau, the Paramount Linguist of the Yilo Klo State, Otsiami Atigli, were present at the events.

The Eastern Regional House of Chiefs is now expected to review the petition and accompanying evidence to determine the next steps in accordance with customary law.