The peace deal brokered by a Member of the Council of State and Divisional Chief of Princess Town, Nana Akwanzi Abroba IV, known in private life as Eunice Buah Asomah Chiremeh, amongst warring factions at the Western Regional House of Chiefs (WRHC) may not likely work.
This is as a result of what happened behind a closed door meeting between the chiefs who make up the House last Tuesday when the sector Minister, Asamoah Boateng, for the first time, met the chiefs.
The meeting comes after the chiefs resolved in principle amongst themselves at the behest of Eunice Buah to give peace a chance at the House following years of litigation which had thrown it into disarray.
Following the peace deal, the chiefs agreed to withdraw all legal cases pending before the court, and agreed and confirmed Tetretteh Okuamoah Sekyim, Omanhene of Wassa Amenfi, and Awulae Angamatuo Gyan, Omanhene of Gwira, as President and Vice President of the House respectively.
The House also agreed to confirm Obrempong Hima Dekyi, Omanhene of Upper Dixcove, Kwesi Agyemang, Omanhene of Lower Dixcove, and Kwaw Entsie, Omanhen of Mpohor, as Members of the National House of Chiefs (NHC).
The Paramount Chiefs, who were at the said meeting and agreed to the peace deal were Awulae Agyefi Kwame, Omanhene of Nsein, Awuale Attibrukusu, Omanhene of Lower Axim, Nana Kobina Nketi IV, Omanhene of Essikado, and Awuale Annor Adjae, Omanhene of Western Nzema. The rest are Tetretteh Okuamoah Sekyim, Osabarima Kwaw Entsie, Obrempong Hima Dekyi, and Kwesi Agyemang. Awuale Amihere Kpanyile, Omanhene of Eastern Nzema, who has two legal cases pending before the court against Angamatuo Gyan and one other, was not present at the said meeting.
The peace deal comes after years of litigation over the disputed election of the President and Vice President of the House.
The case of the disputed election travelled all the way to the Supreme Court until a Sekondi High Court finally gave a ruling on the January 19, 2022, invalidating the election of the President, and which upheld the election of the Vice President in a review application.
However, for many who hailed the chiefs for giving peace a chance to settle their differences and have the House running were in for a big disappointment.
This is because information picked up by The Chronicle indicates that, the peace deal was most likely not to be honourd.
FRESH OBJECTION
On September 13, a meeting amongst the chiefs with the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs at the House Lobby Chamber raise questions and objection over the itinerary for the programme for the Minister.
In the said itinerary, The Chronicle is aware that Tetretteh Okuamoah Sekyim, Omanhene of Wassa Amenfi, has been penciled down to give a remark as President of the House.
This itinerary led to a misunderstanding amongst the chiefs, who questioned the capacity in which Tetretteh was to address the meeting as President of the House.
Awuale Amihere Kpanyile III, Omanhene of Eastern Nzema, according to information, was the first to raise the issue with the itinerary which had Tetretteh addressing the meeting as President of the House.
Dissatisfied, Amihere Kpanyile drew the attention of the Counsel of the House to the issue. In the end, the Counsel agreed to the issue raise leading to the House agreeing that Tetretteh rather address the meeting as Chairman.
Awuale Angamatuo Gyan, Omanhene of Gwira, was said to be furious over the decision for the Eastern Nzema Omanhene to raise the issue when the House had agreed in principle to have Tetretteh as President.
Angamatuo Gyan confirmed in a telephone interview that he was unhappy with the decision to bar Tetretteh from addressing the meeting as President when they had all agreed to that.
Awuale Attibrukusu III, Omanhene of Lower Axim, confirmed the issue and added that, what the Eastern Nzema did, raising issue with the itinerary, was the right thing.
This was because, though the House had agreed to resolve all issue out of court, the cases had not been withdrawn and were still pending, therefore, if Tetretteh was to have been allowed to address the meeting as President, he was going to fall in contempt of court, given that the cases had still not been withdrawn.
Attibrukusu told this reporter that he was in agreement with the decision of his colleague of Eastern Nzema for Tetretteh not to address the meeting as President of the House.
He argued that until the cases were all withdrawn, the court actions were still binding on all the members.
“Don’t forget Eastern Nzema has [a] judgement against Tetretteh over the president election.”
Attibrukusu accused Angamatuo Gyan for what he described as leaking information to this paper over what happened at the closed door meeting.
Nana Kwesi Agyemang, Omanhene of Lower Dixcove, on his part, told this reporter that until the petitioner (Eastern Nzema) withdrew all cases before the court against the respondents, there could be no President for the House.
He conceded that though the House agreed in principle to give peace a chance, until the cases were voluntarily withdrawn from the court, the present predicament would remain. “There is a process for withdrawing a case from court and we must all respect that. The case is almost at the conclusion.”
Awuale Amihere Kpanyile, Omanhene of Eastern Nzema, appeared not ready to speak to this reporter on the issue when he answered a call.
Obrempong Hima Dekyi, Omanhene of Upper Dixcove, on his part, told this reporter he was not present in the Lobby when the issue over the itinerary came up, however, later when he returned the itinerary had been changed to Tetretteh chairing the meeting rather than addressing it as President.
