The Chief of Kitase, near Aburi in the Akuapem South Municipality of the Eastern Region, Nana Kwasi Ankrah III, has called on the people of Akuapem, particularly Kitase, to give way to peace and unity.
According to the Chief, peace and unity were the key components that stimulate accelerated socio-economic development, hence, the need for all well-meaning Akuapems to bury any seeds of misunderstanding and confusion.
The Chief made the call in response to an unfolding drama that ensued last Wednesday, when the Abakomahene of Kitase, Nana Kwadwo Gyimah, and some members slaughtered a ram to indicate his destoolment.
The Abakomahene in the early hours of that day claimed to have destooled Nana Kwasi Ankrah Ill on the grounds that he (Nana Ankrah Ill) had been involved in some misconduct.
The Abakomahene of Kitase did not, however, mention any particular charge that could amount to the destoolment of a chief, except to say the Chief had been slapped with over 18 charges and all attempts for him to appear before the kingmakers had proved unsuccessful.
The alleged destoolment of the Chief was strongly supported by the Queenmother of Kitase, Nana Korkor Ntim II, who said she had been on the Stool for over 47 years.
According to her, Nana Ankrah Ill had demonstrated gross disrespect towards her, adding that “Oh, but the Chief doesn’t regard me as Queen. So, if they have destooled him – it is the elders who made me Queen – what can I say?
“For me, it doesn’t concern me. The elders told me they had invited him on three occasions to a meeting, but he refused to honour them.
If you refuse to heed your elders, there’s nothing I can do about it. If he was close to me, I would have advised him about his actions, but he does not regard me.”
But, in a quick response, the visibly angry Oyeman Ankrah Ill stated that the unfolding chieftaincy disputes that had greeted the Akuapem Ridge called for serious concern and national attention.
He expressed shock over the way some unscrupulous persons or group of people could call themselves kingmakers or chiefs when they did not belong to any royal gate and had no knowledge about tradition and culture.
“To boldly declare that the Abakomahene of Kitase, Nana Kwadwo Gyimah, had no right under any circumstances to act as they did, and if they really wanted to call themselves a chief or to install themselves as a chief; if they are reasonable people, we should have met me with their grievances, then we discuss about the issue, so what they did is hooliganism, but most of them are robbing Kitase lands, which I don’t agree,” he stressed.
He continued that “I have done nothing wrong; I have built Kitase as it is today, everybody will witness to that. They should be arrested and punished, [for] their actions amount to conspiracy to ferment troubles, leading to instability of peace and unity in that area.”
He continued that two to three people were his sub-chiefs, but he destooled them because of their behavior, and that they had formed an alliance to disturb him.
“I am going to pursue the case, because if this chapter is not closed, they will keep doing it. We want peace in Kitase, because the people within are peaceful. What are my faults? At least, a chief should commit about seven offences; what have I done? Can they give one reason?
“Of course, what they did is uncalled for; it should not be done at all. They should have a reason to destool a chief. Who would want to destool Nana Kwasi Ankrah Ill? You can’t just go and buy a sheep and claim you have destooled me.”
Despite the Aburi District Police Command confirming the arrest of the three who performed the alleged destoolment rites of Nana Ankrah Ill, whilst the rest are on the run, the police declined to give details to this paper as at the time of filing this report, because investigations were still ongoing.
