A Sekondi High Court, presided over by Justice Gyan Kontoh, has granted a ten day injunction restraining the families of Otumfuo Baidoe Bonsoe from taking custody of the body of the late overlord of Ahanta.
The ex-parte injunction moved by the Ahanta Traditional Council as plaintiff has Ebusuapayin Bolo Kwaw, George Abuah, Peter Ansah, John Yankey, Opayin Kwesi Darko and Azulu Prah as defendants.
The order secured on February 7, this year, read: “It is hereby ordered that the defendants and each of them, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, privies, assigns, however described are restrained from taking custody of the body of the late Otumfuo Baidoe Bonose XV from the Eternal Funeral Home to any other place either for the funeral, burial or for whatever purpose, save when the two parties act together”.
The substantive case is yet to be moved and the defendants are expected to file their defense to the suit. The injunction restraining the defendants of the late Overlord’s family comes after another High Court in Sekondi discontinued a similar course of action, after the parties reached a settlement.
The Queen mother of Ahanta and the chief of Apemanim, acting on behalf of the Traditional Council had filed a motion for injunction, seeking to restrain the families of the late Overlord from taking custody of the body of the late Overlord, known in private life as ‘Onso Nyameye’.
The motion also sought to restrain the Eternal Funeral Home from giving the body of the late overlord to the family.
But when the motion was finally moved before Justice Sedinam Agbemava, Counsel for the plaintiff, Joseph Nana Abakah brought it to the attention of the court that the parties had opted for an out of court settlement. The Court consequently granted the settlement agreement.
In another development, the family of the late Otumfuo Baidoe Bonsoe has reportedly rejected Nana Akwanzi Abraba IV, as the Acting President of the Ahanta Traditional Council.
The decision was reportedly taken at a Traditional Council meeting, which was not attended by the Registrar of the Council and some of the chiefs who are in support of Nana Abraba becoming Acting President of the Council.
Those present were Ebusuapayin, the Secretary and other royals. The Divisional chiefs present were; chief of Butre, Nana Diaku, chief of Adjoa, chief of Bovini, Nana Kofi Nyame, member of the Council and Ahuntumano, Queenmother amongst many others.
At the meeting, this paper learnt that the family head of the departed chief, Ebusapayin Bolo Kwaw disowned Nana Akwanzi Abraba IV as acting president of the Council.
According to the Ebusuapayin, the lady could not be nominated as acting president of ATC, because prior to the ancestral call of Baidoe Bonsoe, he had, in a letter, nominated the Adontehene, who is the chief of Himakrom, to act in his absence.
Therefore, the Adontihene was the one the family knew as acting president of the Council
A member of the Council, who was at the meeting, Nana Kofi Nyame confirmed the meeting in a telephone interview with this reporter.
According to Nana Kofi Nyame, the Ebusuapayin of Otumfuo Baidoe Bonsoe made it clear that the family does not recognise any other person apart from the Adontehene as president, because of the letter Otumfuo himself wrote before being called by his maker, which was read at the meeting
Nana Eben Ayeboafo, acting head of family of Aketenche also confirmed in a telephone interview that Otumfuo Baidoe Bonsoe wrote in a letter nominating the Himakrom chief to act on his behalf.
According to Nana Ayeboafo, the letter in question has the signature of the departed paramount chief on it.
“Yes, there are a lot of witnesses to the fact that Otumfuo wrote that letter,” he said. However, the Himakrom, according to him, was customarily a chief but is yet to be gazetted as a chief.
Another Divisional chief, Nana Egya Kwamina also confirmed the meeting. He told this reporter that he received a letter from the Ebusapayin inviting him to the meeting but could not make it.
He reiterated that the appointment of Nana Akwanzi Abraba IV, as acting president, was a violation of the Ahanta Stool and affront to culture and tradition.
The Registrar of the Council, Justice Arhin Mensah, could not speak to this reporter in a telephone interview. The line dropped as soon as this reporter introduced himself as Chronicle reporter.
The letter, authored by the Ebusuapayin, inviting the chiefs to the meeting is headlined ‘Emergency Meeting’ and addressed to senior divisional chiefs in the traditional area.
In the letter, a copy of which is in the possession of this reporter, the Ebusapayin wrote:
“We wish to invite you to an emergency meeting of the Senior Traditional stools under the Paramount stool of Baidoe Bonsoe at Busua on Tuesday, the 7th of February, 2023at 10:30am prompt.
The agenda of the meeting, the Ebusapayin further wrote, was to inform Nananom about the health of Otumfuo Baidoe Bonsoe XV.
The following stools or their representatives were to make it a point to attend with the senior Gyase of Busua.
The Himakrom stool, the Butre stool, the Kenteche stool, the Prestea stool, the Agona stool, the Hotopo stool and the Takoradi stool.
Others are the Apowa stool, the Akwida stool, the Punpuni stool, the Manful stool, the Egyambra Stool and the Princess Stool.
The rest are the Gyasehene of Sankro, the Gyasehene of Buakrom, the Gyasehene of Buvin, the Gyasehene of Asani and the Asafo companies of Busua.
