Akropong stands still, as Okuapehene’s death is announced

by George Folley

Akropong, the seat of Akuapem State, yesterday stood still as citizens of the area led by their chiefs, trooped to the palace to hear the formal announcement of the demise of the Paramount Chief of the area, Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa III.
Rumours were rife on social media platforms last Sunday that the Okuapehene had kicked the bucket but the divisional chiefs remained tight-lipped because, according to custom, the death of the chief is not publicly announced within days of his departure.
Even when the mass-circulated Daily Graphic carried the story yesterday, many people still could not believe that their Omanhene, who had ruled for 41years, had gone to his ancestors although it was common knowledge that he was not in the best of health in recent times.

Firing of musket
The chiefs and people, clad in red and black, poured into the palace, with the Asafo companies firing muskets along the route to the palace.
When the Gyaasehene, Nana Osim Kwatia, called the gathering to order to announce the purpose of the gathering, the Banmuhene and his retinue fired muskets and guns while the drummers sounded the talking drums depicting war cry and a solemn moment.
Nana Osim Kwatia then announced the home call of Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa last Tuesday at a hospital in Accra.
Before he could end his statement, the entire palace was turned into wailing and shedding of tears, especially by women in the immediate family.
He then announced that by tradition, the Kontihene of Akwapim was supposed to take charge in the absence of the Okuapehene but since he was not in the jurisdiction, Otoobour Gyan Kwasi II, the Adontenhene, was to act as the President of the Akwapim Traditional Council and take responsibility for the affairs of the State.
The chiefs and people slaughtered sheep and poured libation to signify the beginning of mourning in the Akwapim State, although it was not immediately clear when the funeral arrangements would be announced.

Addresses
All the divisional chiefs took turns to address the people appealing to them to maintain peace and stability in the Akwapim State .
They recalled that at the church service to climax the Odwira festival last year, Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa prayed for peace for the Akwapim State and urged everybody to resolve never again to divide the state. Nana Gyan Kwasi appealed to the Asona family who were mandated to nominate a paramount chief for the Akwapim State that the succession plan was followed to avoid throwing the state into turmoil.
Rev. E.O. Kwapong, chairman of the Akwapim Presbytery, who also spoke at the gathering, reminded the people of Akwapim of the confusion that greeted the installation of many paramount chiefs in the past in the Akwapim State and noted that since Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa managed to bring all the divisions together before his death, all the chiefs in the area should unite and with one accord should make history by nominating, selecting and installing a successor to the late Omanhene in peace to ensure the development of the area.

Chiefs unhappy with Daily Graphic
Although the people were mourning, they were unhappy with the publication of the demise of the Omanhene by the Daily Graphic with some of the traditional leaders insisting that they would find the people behind the publication and if need be, let the laws of the land and the tradition of Akwapim state take their course.
They said although they were aware of the effects of social media, they expected the paper, as the flagship of the nation, to have waited for the traditional authorities to announce the death of the Omanhene, and sounded a word of caution to the editor for breaking their tradition.
At certain stages, the firing of guns with live ammunition became so intense that the Akwapim Divisional Police Commander ordered his men to cease all the guns to avoid any mishap.

Tributes
People interviewed by the Daily Graphic, paid tribute to the late Omanhene, describing him as a peaceful man who brought development to the area.
They described him as a father of all who did not discriminate against any of his subjects.

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Posted by admin on Aug 14 2015. Filed under African News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry