Press release: Agona denkyira toafie royal family Amma Abrewa royal gate, Miremano
Final funeral rite of Nana Kyi Kwadwo and related injustices and violations
Purpose of Press Conference
To expose the injustices meted on the true family and the real owners/overlord of the Toafie enclave of Asuogya, Jenjenmireja and Miremano and to ask for protection from relevant offices.
Introduction
Chieftaincy is an age-old institution that is revered throughout Africa. In Ghana, it has been part of our ruling and governmental systems.
There are ‘rules’ that govern chieftaincy as a whole.
For example, there are royals in every village/town/clan that can ascend the throne and be called chiefs in these mentioned set ups.
In many instances, there are more than one Royal Gate within a Royal family and as such the stool rotates amongst the Royal Gates. Our clan, the Toafie Royal family consists of six (6) Royal Gates.
The Toafiehene throne (which has been given the title of Nifahene of the Drobo Traditional Council) rotates from one Royal Gate to another.
When a Royal Gate is given the opportunity or when it is the turn of a Royal Gate to provide a candidate to ascend the throne, the mothers confer and provide a suitable and an acceptable candidate to the Kingmakers. A royal from the Toafie Royal family could only be crowned as Nifahene of the Drobo Traditional Council after being installed as the Toafiehene and swearing an oath of allegiance to the Drobomanhene. The Toafiehene has the Chiefs of Asuogya, Jenjenmireja and Miremano as his divisional Chiefs.
When the immediate past Toafiehene and Nifahene, Nana Boakye Yiadom passed on, proper tradition was not followed.
Atta Kofi who is not a royal from the Toafie Royal family was crowned as the Nifahene of the Drobo Traditional Council without being installed as the Toafiehene.
As a result, Atta Kofi is not recognised as the leader of the Toafie enclave – he also has no control over the chiefs and queen mothers of the three Toafie towns.
The Kingmakers of the Toafie Royal family have performed the necessary rites to destool Atta Kofi as Nifahene because he falsely claimed to be a royal from our family. These facts and events notwithstanding, the Drobomanhene has put his weight behind this wrong candidate.
Atta Kofi in particular, needs a chief from one of the Toafie towns to serve him to try to claim legitimacy and as such the Drobo Traditional Council and Atta Kofi have been supporting Tan Kwabena against the ‘greater family’.
Background to the latest developments
Nana Kye Kwadwo, the immediate past Chief (Odikro) of Miremano passed on in August 2020. His body had been at the morgue since his demise.
Plans for the burial and final funeral rites of Nana Kye Kwadwo were made last year – slated for March 2022. A family member in the person of Op. Tan Kwabena who wants to be the Chief of Miremano managed to stop the burial and the funeral on the eve of the burial using an unlawful injunction order. The sad thing is that the stool had already been given to his uncle, Nana Issifu Kwabena.
This created tensions and hardships in the family as too much money and other resources were put in the preparations for the funeral (wasted). The cost at the morgue also kept increasing.
The High Court at Sunyani granted an order for the body to be buried and the final funeral rites to be organised from the 24-27 February 2023 at Miremano, Jaman South Municipal Area. This was after the family, including Op. Tan Kwabena had had a meeting and agreed on the dates for the burial and funeral. Nana Issifu Ali Fordjour was given the leadership role by the Sunyani High Court to organise the burial and funeral.
Security Arrangements
The family asked for security at the burial and funeral from the Regional Minister, National Security Co-ordination, the Ghana Police Service (Regional, Divisional and Municipal) and the Municipal Assembly.
The Burial and final funeral rites
The same Op. Tan Kwabena who was part of the current funeral arrangements teamed up with the Drobo Traditional Council to organise a parallel funeral of the same Nana Kye Kwadwo against the order of the Sunyani High Court.
He used names of people, most of whom are not part of the Toafie Royal family as chief mourners against the norms and tradition as well as family traditions.
The Amma Abrewa Royal Gate of the Toafie Royal family had already selected Nana Issifu Kwabena who is the uncle of Tan Kwabena as the regent. The stool had already been given to Nana Issifu Kwabena in 2022 by the rightful Kingmakers and has already been out-doored at Miremano in 2022.
The body of the late Nana Kye Kwadwo was released to the family as agreed upon by the family and the St. Mary’s Hospital authorities.
The body was released from the morgue at 6pm on Friday, 24 February 2023. The body arrived at Miremano safely and was placed in the bedroom of the deceased to be dressed and prepared for it to be laid in state at the Palace
Prior preparations at the Palace had been done by the ‘greater family’ for the same.
Traditional and customary rites were performed in the early morning of Saturday, the 25th February 2023.
The ‘greater family’ was satisfied with the developments so far and was getting ready for the second phase of the programme for the day when all of a sudden, Op. Tan Kwabena, Atta Kofi, Yaw Tawiah, Kwadwo Asumah, Krontihene of the Twafohene of the Drobo Traditional Council, Akyempemhemaa of Drobo Traditional Council, Elder Kwadwo Nsiah and their troop of men and women wielding guns and other weapons arrived at the scene and started shooting in the air.
The non-ceremonial and criminal aspects
Op. Tan Kwabena came forward and asked Nana Issifu Ali Fordjour the whereabouts of the body of Nana Kye Kwadwo.
Nana Issifu Ali Fordjour answered him gently, saying “keep cool. The body is being prepared to be brought to the Palace.” Op. Tan Kwabena did not take the response in good faith.
He commanded his ‘troop’ and went straight to house where the body was being prepared.
The troop was led by Op. Tan Kwabena, Kwadwo Asumah, Yaw Tawiah (wielding pump action guns), Elder Kwadwo Nsiah, Anas Bukari, Yaw Mark and Stephen Kwadwo Kumah.
The door to the room of the late Nana Kye Kwadwo, where his body was being prepared was broken down, the body was taken away in a very disrespectful manner.
The body was openly carried in the hands of a few of the troop members with the hands of the corpse hanging and almost touching the ground across the street to the Palace.
All the items including clothing, toiletries and other material items required from the widows that were being kept in the room were taken away by the troop.
Sadly, the ornaments/ jewels and other precious metals used in the decoration of the body of deceased chiefs in the family which were in the room at the time were also taken away by the Op. Tan Kwabena and his troop.
Op. Tan Kwabena, Kwadwo Asumah, Yaw Tawiah, Elder Kwadwo Nsiah, Anas Bukari, Yaw Mark, Stephen Kwadwo Kumah, the Akyempemhemaa and the rest of their troop resorted to insults and various forms of intimidation including the use of guns to systematically force the ‘greater family’ out of the funeral grounds. They then took over the chairs and tents/canopies hired by the ‘greater family’. Op. Tan Kwabena, Kwadwo Asumah, Yaw Tawiah, Elder Kwadwo Nsiah, Anas Bukari, Stephen Kwadwo Kumah and their troop went ahead to bury the late Nana Kye Kwadwo at the Palace (against the family tradition) between 3 – 4pm on Saturday, 25 February 2023.
None of the ‘greater family’ members was allowed to see the body before being buried.
Nana Fordjour even asked the Police Commander at the funeral grounds to help a few from the ‘greater family’ to see the body before burial but he was told “it is not the duty of the police to do that.” The coffin used to bury Nana Kye Kwadwo was bought by the Queen mother of Miremano, Nana Fatima Ayiwa and the ‘greater family’ but stolen by Tan Kwabena and his troop.
The drums/instruments of the ‘Bomaa troupe’ from Adamsu, hired by Nana Issifu Ali Fordjour were destroyed by the same people mentioned earlier.
Wrongful installation of Tan Kwabena as Chief of Miremano
The Drobomanhene arrived at Miremano on Saturday, the 25th of February 2023 in the convoy of soldiers to the surprise of so many people because the paramount Chief was not expected at such a funeral. Nonetheless, the Drobomanhene, Nana Okokyeredom Sakyiako II, went ahead and supervised the wrongful performance of Traditional rites. He personally partook in the Traditional rites against all odds. This is unheard of in the Toafie Royal family as a whole.
Those rites had already been performed by the Toafiehene. Atta Kofi, the illegitimate Nifahene of the Drobo Traditional Council also performed the same rites after the Toafiehene and the greater family were systematically forced out of the funeral grounds. Based on the wrongful performance of the said Traditional rites, Tan Kwabena was wrongfully installed as the ‘second Chief of Miremano’ as his uncle had already been installed by the rightful Kingmakers.
These acts of criminality and non-ceremonial acts were carried out in the presence of the Ghana Police Service personnel who were deployed to ensure a peaceful burial and funeral celebration of Nana Kye Kwadwo. Very unfortunate. It will seem that the National Security Agencies are being used for illegitimate practices and intimidation of peace-loving citizens.
This may compromise their neutrality and effectiveness in ensuring peaceful co-existence. This should be dealt with decisively to avoid people linking the government of the day to supporting wrongdoing.
We are also informing all Ghanaians, home and abroad that there is only one Chief at Miremano and he is Nana Issifu Kwabena.
He was the one properly selected by the rightful family and installed by the Queen mother and the Abusuapanin.
Settlement of costs incurred since the demise of Nana Kye Kwadwo
The cost at the Morgue alone amounted to GHc 16500.00. It was settled by the Queen mother and the ‘greater family’.
The cost of court cases on injunction orders and contempt of court processes on the body were all paid by the Queen mother and the ‘greater family’. Canopy/tents hired by the greater family but taken over by Tan Kwabena, Atta Kofi and their troop were paid by the Queen mother and the ‘greater family’. The Bomaa troupe was paid for by Nana Issifu Ali Fordjour and the greater family.
Implications of the actions of the Drobomanhene, Atta Kofi, Op. Tan Kwabena and their troop
1. Division of the Ama Abrewa Royal Gate and the Toafie Royal family as a whole
2. Chaos in the Toafie enclave of Asuogya, Jenjenmireja and Miremano
3. Disregard of Traditional values and customary rites and disrespect for Traditional office bearers
4. Perpetuation of debt in the Toafie Royal family
5. Continuous litigation in the Toafie Royal family
6. Suppression of development in the Toafie enclave
Complaint to the Police
A complaint has been lodged at the Jenjenmireja Police station (transferred to the Drobo Police station), reporting the following people for their roles in the mayhem and stealing of valuable items;
Op. Tan Kwabena, Kwadwo Asumah, Yaw Tawiah, Elder Kwadwo Nsiah, Anas Bukari, Yaw Mark and Stephen Kwadwo Kumah.
Request for protection
We, the people of Toafie are very peaceful and as such have done all we can to avert violent clashes in our enclave since the Chieftaincy disputes and in particular, the recent developments.
We have sought justice, fair play and unity from the Drobo Traditional Council, the regional House of Chiefs, Security agencies in the Bono Region but to no avail. We are by this press conference re-enforcing our request.
Signed..
Agona Denkyira (Jaman) Toafiehene, Nana Dr Toa Effah Boamah II, Jenjenmireja, Jaman South, Bono Region.
Story: Evans Kweku Oboafi Junior (HARDROCK)