Eleven individuals, including a fetish priest, a driver, businessmen, a motor rider and an electrician have been arraigned before the Dansoman Circuit Court for conspiring to violently remove a traditional chief at Russia, a suburb of Accra.
The group allegedly carried out the illegal “destoolment” of Nii Nmenmetey II on July 10, 2025 with disturbing elements including assault, property destruction, theft and animal cruelty.
The accused, led by Solomon Nii Adotei Addo (52) and Emmanuel Okine Akituwa (44), a traditional fetish priest, are facing multiple charges: conspiracy to commit a crime, unlawful damage, stealing, assault and cruelty to animals.
According to the prosecution, the group, acting in concert with several others, still at large, stormed the chief’s palace in four buses and on over 20 motorbikes, in a coordinated and violent operation.
The group is accused of dragging the chief across the palace compound, physically assaulting him, and forcibly removing his traditional regalia, such as a white headscarf and the royal stool.
Eyewitnesses and video evidence reportedly show the group defacing inscriptions on the palace walls with black paint and stealing valuable ceremonial items, including a chief’s stool, an umbrella, pictures and other cultural artefacts, whose total value has not yet been determined.
Notably, the fetish priest, Akituwa, is alleged to have strangled two live fowls with his bare hands, sprinkling their blood on the palace floor as part of a ritualistic destoolment ceremony, a disturbing act that has also drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates.
The alleged assault on Nii Nmenmetey II took place in the presence of his linguists, Daniel Lamptey and Eric Bampoe, who witnessed the group’s arrival and subsequent attack.
According to the chief’s statement to police, some of the assailants wore masks and wielded firearms and cutlasses.
Court Proceedings
The accused – John Kwei Tetteh (68), Nii Adokwei Mankralo (45), Ali Seidu (31), Owusu Afriyie Bani (35), Nii Adotey Jenkeke Ayoo I (50) and Abraham Mac-Bruce (24) have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Three key suspects – Adokwei Addo, Ayikwei and Asafoatse Akwei – are still at large – along with four unidentified accomplices.
Police investigations are ongoing with efforts underway to arrest these fugitives and recover the stolen regalia.
The Prosecutor, Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder opposed bail, citing the seriousness of the offenses and the possibility of interference with investigations.
Presiding judge, Her Honour Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, denied bail, remanding the accused into custody until the next hearing on July 28, 2025.
