E/R: Duwaa's gate petition National and Regional House of Chiefs, Minister over New Juaben chieftaincy issues

Paramount Chief nominee, Nana Kwadwo Yeboah

The New Juaben Traditional Council is preparing to allow the New Paramount Chief, Nana Kwadwo Yeboah, to swear an oath of allegiance few weeks after his enstoolment.

This follows an official announcement by the Council on Sunday morning June 25, 2022.

However, the Nana Duwaa's gate of the Yiadom-Hwedie Royal family have expressed disappointment in the selection and plans to go ahead and gazette the nominee despite their rejection in a court order.

In a press statement issued on Sunday, 25th June, 2022 and signed by the Spokesperson, Kofi Gyimah, the Duwaa's gate is appealing to the President of the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, President of the National House Chiefs, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to order the Registrar of the Eastern Region of of Chiefs to discharge his duties in accordance with the law.

According to the release, the Registrar is been accused of being biased as plans to serve Respondents with an injunction notice since June 6, 2022 has proven futile.

Per the release, the Duwaa's gate of the Yiadom-Hwedie family is also asking Nana Otuo Siriboe II and Nana Akosua Akyama II, Paramount Chief and Queen mother of Juaben Traditional Area if the Duwaa's gate is not part of the Yiadom-Hwedie family. It added that if the gate is not legitimate to ascend the throne in Juaben and New Juaben when the high position become vacant.

Below is the full statement:

NANA DUWAA’S HOUSE OF YIADOM-HWEDIE ROYAL FAMILY OF OLD AND NEW DWABEN

PRESS RELEASE

THE NEW JUABEN CHIEFTAINCY DISPUTE: THE PURPORTED NOMINATION OF A CANDIDATE AND MATTERS ARISING

DATE: 26/06/2022

On behalf of Nana Ama Duwaa’s House of the Yiadom –Hwedie Royal Family of Old and New Juaben we make this official statement for the purpose of providing information to the general public on the New Juaben Chieftaincy dispute – the purported nomination of a candidate and matters arising thereof.

The Yiadom and Hwedie Royal Families consist of the two Royal Gates to wit; the Nana Duwaa's Gate which presently includes descendants of Nana Yaa Akyaa (Koforidua and Juaben), Nana Pankyie(Koforidua), Nan Afia Sapon (Juaben), Nana Abena Ode (Juaben) and Nana Afia Nnum (Juaben); and Nana Akua Sapomaa’s Gate which is presently the descendants of Nana Akua Boatemaa (Koforidua and Juaben).

Therefore, the Petitioners trace their ancestral lineage from the Nana Duwaa’s Gate whereas Nana Otuo Siriboe II Omanhene of Juaben Traditional Area, Nana Akosua Akyamaa III, Queen mother of Juaben Traditional Area and John Gyamfi, the nominated candidate also trace their ancestral lineage from Nana Akua Sapomaa’s Gate. A week after the Doteyie was performed for the late Daasebre Oti Boateng and Nana Yaa Daani II , Nana Otuo Siriboe II summoned a meeting for only his Gate (Nana Akua Sapomaa’s) Gate which resulted in the nomination of John Gyamfi as his preferred candidate for enstoolment of the position of Omanhene of New-Juaben, and has on the 6^th June 2022 presented him to the Kingmakers for confirmation.

For the nomination to have been properly made all interested Royals should have been given the chance to consider putting their names forward for the post of the Chief if they are qualified. However Nana Otuo Siriboe II failed or neglected to do and in fact to put it bluntly he failed and or neglected to open nominations for all interested Royal from the two gates to consider putting their names forward. Nana Otuo Siriboe II’s conduct therefore is repugnant to the Akan Customary Law, practice and usage.

It is important at this stage to share with Ghanaians and the world as a whole, a similar matter that was settled between Nana Kwadwo Adokwabo as Plaintiff and Omanhene Yaw Sarpong II of Juaben and Elders of Juaben, as Defendants, sometime in 1933 by Otumfour Osei Agyemang Prempeh II. To start with, Kwadwo Adokwabo the Plaintiff was royal of the Duwaa Gate. He swore the great oath of Ashanti that the stool known as Arko and Achiaa stool is the property of

his ancestors and therefore he had a right to occupy it. After taking the plea, the Court suggested an amicable settlement of the issue between the parties whereupon the Juaben elders consequently took leave of the court and retired into consultation.

Per the decision of the panel of Chiefs of the Native Court of Asantehene held in Kumasi on Thursday 28^th March, 1935 before Otumfour Osei Agyemang Prempeh II, the then Asantehene, as president, it was held that “the plaintiff and his family have not been banned from occupying the stool of Juaben and therefore had a customary right to contest for the stool of Juaben which was rendered vacant by the demise of the late Nana Kofi Serebour then, adding that they are entitled to occupy the stool whenever it becomes vacant and the oman finds any of them fit and capable to occupy it he can be elected.”

Since the decision of the panel of Chiefs of the Native Court of Asantehene held in Kumasi on Thursday 28^th March, 1935 before Otumfour Osei Agyemang Prempeh II, nomination of candidates to occupy both Old Juaben and New Juaben Stools has become one sided in favour of the Nana Otuo Siriboe’s Gate. This we deem unfair.

It is worthy to note that rulers of Juaben in history fed on general websites available indicates that our forebearers of Pampama and Nana Duwaa/Akosua Awusi Afra who are elders to the Nana Sarpomaa gate but have been written out of public knowledge of the history of Juaben. Such information on websites does not mention chiefs such as Nana Tomfo) Awere, Kwabi Ameyaw, Dankwa Afrapo, (of Kwadu Twum Oath), Nana Adaakwa Yiadom, Nana Osei Hwedie, Nana Kofi Akrasi, Nana Akuamoa Boateng Panin, Nana Fetua who all ruled as Juabenhene. The information found indicates Nana Kwasi Boateng as the one who first occupied the stool, when Juaben had been indeed founded over 150 years earlier. This is clearly part of an attempt to marginalize the Pampama and Duwaa royal houses and write them out of the history of Juaben Royals.

It is our case that the continuous sidelining of the Nana Duwaa’s Gate from the occupancy of the stools of Old Juaben and New Juaben and the refusal of the Nana Otuo Siriboe II to accord us the curtsies due us as royals of Old and New Juaben is a way of removing our royal status from us although since 1935 when the Chiefs of the Native Court of Asantehene held that our Royal Family have a right to contest and ascend the royal stools of Old Juaben and New Juaben, nothing has happened to change our customary status.

One will have thought that Nana Otuo Siriboe II who is well versed with Akan Customary Laws and Usage, having occupied the Omanhene position for more than fifty years and also Chairman of the Council of State will have done himself the honourable thing by opening nomination for the two legitimate Gates, heirs to the throne to put forward their names. Surprisingly, he single handedly chose the nominee this time again from his lineage (Gate) and has since introduced him to the Kingmakers for forty days confinement.

MATTERS ARISING- A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE FROM THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE EASTERN REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS.

Five members of the Duwaa Family of the Yiadom and Hwedie Royal Families of the Oyoko clan of the Old Juaben and New-Juaben Traditional Areas in the Ashanti and Eastern Regions filed a Petition and an injunction application in their capacities as members of the Duwaa Family and lawful Representative of the Duwaa Family at the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs on the 6^th of June 2022. The Petition was filed against Nana Otuo Siriboe II Omanhene of Juaben Traditional Area and the Chairman of the Counsel of State, Nana Akosua Akyamaa III, Queen mother of Juaben Traditional Area and John Gyamfi, the nominated candidate and Nana Twumasi Dankwa, Gyasehene of the New Juaben Traditional Area. They are seeking a declaration that the purported nomination of John Gyamfi (nominee) by Nana Otuo Siriboe II, Paramount Chief of Juaben Ashanti as the candidate for enstoolment as Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area on the Yiadom-Hwedie Stool is invalid and void among other reliefs.

The Counsel for the Petitioners filed a motion Ex Parte for substituted service on the 13^th June, 2022 at the Registry of the House of Chiefs in order to bring to the attention of Nana Otuo Siriboe II Omanhene of Juaben Traditional Area and the Chairman of the Counsel of State, Nana Akosua Akyamaa III, Queen mother of Juaben Traditional Area and John Gyamfi, the nominated candidate the Petition and the injunction application. This became imperative after the bailiff attached to the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs had made an attempt to effect service on them three times but was unsuccessful.

The Motion Ex Parte for Substituted Service filed on the 13^th June 2022 is suffering a setback due to the predisposition of the House to unduly delay the process as portrayed by the Registrar with an indicting claim to the petitioners that there is no funds to organize a general meeting that will constitute the Judicial Committee to sit on the motion on the substituted service. According to him the House is yet to consult the Chief of Staff of the office of the President for funds to be released for that purpose. It appears as if the House as portrayed by the Registrar is dragging its feet and will not allow service to be effected on the Respondents until the nominee is enstooled.

It is therefore becoming a mirage for the House to be moved by our Counsel for the Petitioners anytime soon for a determination to be made by the House to enable the Petition and the Injunction application be brought to the notice of Nana Otuo Siriboe II, Nana Akosua Akyamaa III and the other Respondent who are avoiding service of the Petition and the Injunction application to be served on them by the Bailiff. It is important to note that the predisposition of the House as portrayed by the Registrar of the House is inimical to the course of justice.

The Petitioners thereafter filed at the Registry of the House a notice of discontinuance of the Petition filed on the 6^th June 2022 and filed a fresh Petition and an injunction application on the 21^st June, 2022 to join to the Petition the Kingmakers. This time round the Registrar has made it impossible for service to be effected on the Respondents as he is reluctant to release the Bailiff to effect service on Nana Otuo Siriboe II Omanhene of Juaben Traditional Area and the Chairman of

the Counsel of State, Nana Akosua Akyamaa III, Queen mother of Juaben Traditional Area, John Gyamfi, the nominated candidate and the Kingmakers.

The Registrar of the House is playing this ‘MAAFIA’ game seriously in a bid to render the Petitioners injunction application nugatory. This is a travesty of Justice. This is an act or decision made that is so unjust that it seems like a grotesque mockery of the way the justice system is supposed to operate. To put it bluntly the Petitioners are being denied justice and would continue to be denied Justice if the conduct of the Registrar is not checked.

We are therefore appealing to the President of the Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, President of the National House of Chiefs, and Minister of Chieftaincy to order the Registrar of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs to discharge his duties in accordance with law.

We also have the information that public announcement has been made on the Morning of Sunday 26^th June, 2022 at Koforidua to the effect that the nominee will swear the oath of allegiance on Monday the 27th June ,2022 at the Forecourt of the Yiadom –Hwedie Palace. The further steps taken by the Juabenhene to enstool the nominee is contrary to customary law and usage. It was expected that the nominee would go through forty (40) days confinement only to hear public announcement on the morning of 26^th June 2022 that he is swearing the oath of allegiance on 27^th June 2022, exactly three weeks of outdooring on the 6th June 2022.

The pertinent questions to Nana Otuo Siriboe and Nana Akosua Akyamaa II are;

• Is the Nana Duwaa Family not part of the Yiadom-Hwedie Royal Family?
• Is the Duwaa’s gate not legitimate to occupy both the New Juaben and Juaben Stools when same is vacant?
• Is the decision of the panel of Chiefs of the Native Court of Asantehene held in Kumasi on Thursday 28^th March, 1935 before Otumfour Osei Agyeman Prempeh II not binding on Nana Otuo Siriboe II and Nana Akosua Akyaamaa II?
• What is the interest of Nana Otuo Siriboe II in writing us off from the Royal history and courtesies of Juaben.

This time round the Duwaa Family will resist any attempt to impose a candidate on us. The days when the Nana Duwaa Gate were left out in the nomination process of Chiefs and Queen mothers are over.

If Nana Otuo Siriboe II and Nana Akosua Akyamaa III go ahead to impose a chief on us through a one-sided nomination, we and our ancestors: Abrewa Ampem, Tomfo Awere, Kwabi Ameyaw, Ako ne Akyaa, Adarkwa Yiadom, Osei Hwedi , Dankwa Afrapo, Awusi Afra, Kofi Akrasi , Ofue Adwubi, Akuamoah Boaten Panin, Kwasi Boateng, Yaw Sarpong Kumakuma I, etc would not be pleased with them.

We therefore call on the Juabenhene, Nana Otuo Siriboe II to respect customary law and tradition to avoid a potential conflict. We further call on him to bring his fifty years’ experience as Omanhene to bear by following laid down traditional processes in a bid to avoid potential conflict.

Thank you.

Signed

KOFI AGYEMAN (SPOKESPERSON)

Contacts: 0548588846, 0549838099, 0244093329, 0242638957