Nana Oforiwa Pokuah II, Queenmother of Kwahu-Pepease in the Kwahu East District of the Eastern Region, has accused police personnel in the area of showing open bias in a protracted chieftaincy dispute between her and the Chief of the area, Nana Bonsu Ayiripa Ababio II.
She said the police officers in the area have always aligned themselves with the followers of Nana Ayiripa Ababio II against hers anytime there was a misunderstanding between the two factions.
Nana Oforiwa Pokuah II has, therefore, called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, to call his men to order, to avoid the situation where, as a result of their actions, the police officers who are supposed to keep the peace in the area rather end up throwing it out of gear.
Last Saturday, followers of Nana Bonsu Ayiripa Ababio II clashed with followers of the Queenmother at a funeral grounds at Kwahu-Pepease.
Information available to The Chronicle indicates that the Queenmother and members of the Santase Bretuo family of Kwahu-Pepease, who are the legitimate owners of the Kyedom Stool, have declared openly that they do not recognise Nana Ababio II as the legitimate chief of the area, since he was enstooled.
Consequently, members of the Santase Bretuo family have vowed not to pay homage to the Chief, either at state durbars or any place where he (the chief) turns up.
Traditionally, funeral activities in the Kwahu town are organised once every 40 days, meaning families in the town, which are bereaved, have to keep their dead until the first 40-day scheduled date, to be able to hold the funeral of their beloved ones.
Last Saturday was one of such occasions when funerals were to be held for departed family members in the town. Normally, when the Chief and his entourage arrive at the funeral grounds, people are supposed to pay homage to him by standing up and acknowledging his greetings.
When the Chief and his entourage arrived at the funeral grounds at about 3:30p.m., all the people present stood up to pay homage. Unfortunately, the Queenmother and members of her family, who were also at the funeral grounds, refused to stand up and pay homage to the Chief and his entourage, because they claim they do not recognise him as the legitimate chief of the area to be respected.
As if that was not enough disrespect, The Chronicle gathered that followers of the Queenmother started raining unprintable insults on the Chief and his elders without any provocation.
The followers of the Chief and his elders, who were not happy with the development, confronted the Queenmother’s followers, which degenerated into a free for all fight, with scores of people sustaining various degrees of injuries.
One Kwadwo Gyan, popularly known as Rasta, Solomon Owusu, and Awura Ama, all from the Queenmother’s side, were severely beaten up, with Rasta sustaining cuts on his body, swollen eyes and his clothes torn apart, virtually showing his nakedness.
Kwabena Adomako and Nana Asiedu Kwabeng, also from the Chief’s side, sustained various degrees of injuries. Someone also used his shoe to hit the right eye of Nana Asiedu Kwabeng, who is currently on admission receiving treatment.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the paper, Nana Pokuah II accused the family of the Chief, who, according to him, initiated the attack on her members, who retaliated in self-defense, which led to the open fight, saying, Rasta was arrested at about 7:00p.m. at his residence without any obstruction.
She explained that Rasta, who is not a member of the Santase Bretuo family, merely attempted to ask the followers of the Chief why they were attacking her people, only to be subjected to severe beatings and later arrested.
The Queenmother, who could not hold back her tears during the interview, called on the IGP to call his men in the district to order, since they had taken a position in the matter.
Nana Oforiwa Pokuah II continued that when Rasta was arrested, instead of taking him to the Police Station, he was first taken to the Chief’s palace, where he was again subjected to another bout of beating, while the Chief and arresting police officer, Lance Corporal Boniface Akakpo, supervised it.
But, Lance Corporal Akakpo has denied all the allegations leveled against him by the Queenmother. According to him, when he attempted to arrest Solomon Owusu and Awura Ama, all from the Queenmother’s side, Rasta severally obstructed him from doing so, hence his arrest.
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