Kumawu gets two rival chiefs as dispute escalates
There has been a dramatic escalation of the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute, with the installation of a rival paramount chief by a section of the king-makers.
The development has set Kumawu on a collision course, with the Manhyia Palace – a real test that could have far-reaching consequences for the integrity of the Asante Confederacy.
The king-makers have been angered by what they claimed was an imposition of Dr. Yaw Sarfo, by the Asantehene, and vowed never to recognize him as Kumawuhene.
In a clear display of their readiness for a showdown with the King, the Akwamuhene, Nana Akwasi Baffoe, the Akyempimhene, Nana Okyere Krapa Yiadom, the Aduanahene, Nana Sarfo Agyekum, and Nana Okyere Darko Fordjour, Nsumakwaahene, have gone ahead to install a rival chief, Barima Tweneboa Kodua the Fifth, a telecommunications engineer.
He pledged to unite the three royal gates of Kumawu and lead the people to bring socio-economic development.
Aged 56, and known in private life as Mr. Akwasi Oduro, he said his priority is to aggressively promote education and get investors to put the area’s large stretch of arable land into commercial agricultural production, to create jobs and wealth for the people.
He invited citizens of the traditional area, particularly, those resident outside the country, to identify with development efforts back home.
The kingm-akers earlier took turns to counsel Barima Tweneboa Kodua, to bring the people together to transform the area.
They asked him to make himself accessible to all, open, transparent and accountable.
It may be recalled that Dr. Yaw Sarfo, whose stool name is Barima Sarfo Kodua, swore the oath of allegiance to the Asantehene on November 4, last year, but the four insisted the processes leading to his election, breached the Asante customary practice, and lacked propriety.
They claimed that his installation did not receive majority approval of the king-makers, who by tradition, have the exclusive right to decide who became the Kumawuhene.
They maintained that what happened at the Manhyia Palace on November 4, was an aberration, an illegality that could not be allowed to hold.
Source: GNA