Rival Chief Installed At Kumawu  

Barima Twereboa Kodua, the new chief installed yesterday at Kumawu

SECURITY was yesterday tightened at Kumawu in the Ashanti Region following the installation of another paramount chief for the area.

Three embattled chiefs of the Kumawu Traditional Area – Nana Akwasi Baffoe II, Akwamuhene; Nana Sarfo Agyekum II, Aduanahene and Nana Okyere Krapah, Akyempemhene – have installed 56-year-old John Akwasi Oduro, a telecommunication technician, as the new chief of Kumawu, even though the area already has a chief.

He was given a stool name Twereboa Kodua V, and was working with the British Royal Mill, Post High Grade, in London.

Dr. Emmanuel Yaw Kantanka Sarfo-Asante, 47, had already been installed the paramount chief of the area with the stool name Barima Sarfo Twereboa Kodua.

The latest installation, which occurred around on Monday in the heart of the traditional community, has heightened security concerns ahead of the first 2015 Akwasidae celebration.

It attracted a sizable number of Kumawu residents, despite the timing of the event, which appeared more solemn. The Ashanti Regional Minister, Samuel Sarpong, said the security measures were taken to keep the public safe.

He said the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) acknowledged the potential threat to peace and stability and accordingly deployed a team of police officers to take control of the area.

According to him, the security council would not dabble in the chieftaincy dispute of the area, and that his team would seek audience with the overlord of Asanteman to find a solution to the problem.

'Improper Ritual'
Meanwhile, Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, who was installed in October last year as Kumawuhene, has called on the public to disregard the purported installation of Mr. Akwasi Oduro as a parallel chief.

Speaking through his spokesperson, Dr. James Longdon, Barima Sarfo stated that he remained the legitimate paramount chief of Kumawu, having been properly selected, vetted and taken through the appropriate rituals before his installation.

In his view, the installation of his rival chief was improper and without merit, intimating that Barima Twereboa Kodua V was not made to sit on the Kumawu black stool as required by Asante custom and traditional practices.

But Nana Akwasi Baffoe II, Akwamuhene, insists that Barima Sarfo Twereboa Kodua lacks legitimacy as Kumawuhene, rubbishing his (Barima Sarfo's) stance that the medical doctor's selection and installation fell short of due process and contravened established Asante customary practices and tradition.

According to him, the swearing-in of Dr Sarfo-Kantaka as Kumawu chief was an act of illegality and imposition.

'We have a duty to Kumawuman - our ancestors, ourselves, the present and future generations – to fight for what is right and just,' he stressed.

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumawu-Ash