Akyem Abuakwa strips Etweresohene of title, courtesies over defiance of Okyenhene

The Akyem Abuakwa Standing Committee has taken the extraordinary step of stripping the Etweresohene, Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiahwe, of all traditional courtesies and his title following remarks deemed disrespectful and rebellious toward the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II.

The decision follows allegations that the Etweresohene openly challenged the authority of the Okyenhene over the installation of a chief for Osenase and threatened to break away from the Akyem Abuakwa State.

In a significant show of dissent, 12 chiefs within the Odau Group, which he leads under the Benkum Division of Okyeman, distanced themselves from his comments and reaffirmed their allegiance to the Okyenhene.

Announcing the decision at a meeting held at the Ofori Panin Fie in Kyebi, Senior Counsel for Okyeman and Standing Committee member, Kwame Boateng, revealed that the Etweresohene has also been stripped of the honorific title “Daasebre” and will henceforth be referred to as Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiahwe.

He declared that the chief has effectively been banished from traditional engagement within Okyeman.

“As the chief of Etwereso has himself declared that he will never step foot in Kyebi again, the Council has today granted his wish in full measure. He is hereby denied any and all audience in the Ofori Panin Fie save to answer to any statutory body. No gate shall open to him. No stool shall be set for him. He has chosen the path of exile, and we shall not call him back,” Lawyer Boateng stated.

The Committee further noted that the Etweresohene had twice failed to honour invitations to appear before it to respond to a viral video and other statements in which he allegedly made defiant remarks against the Okyenhene.

“Whereas the Standing Committee, in accordance with our time honoured customs, formally extended an invitation to the chief of Etwereso to appear before us today on a date he himself proposed, yet he uncustomarily and disrespectfully sent an excuse through the State Secretary, refusing to face the Okyenhene and the elders.

“Having heard the silence where his voice should have been, having weighed his words and his deeds against the oaths he swore upon the Ofori Stool, the Standing Committee of Okyeman hereby strips off his courtesies,” he said.

In addition to the sanctions, the Committee has withdrawn his reporting rights, effectively cutting off all official communication channels between him and the Okyeman authority structure.

“No communication from him shall be received by the Okyenhene, the State Secretary, or any recognised traditional authority of Okyeman. The Standing Committee has directed all towns, villages and settlements that were previously under the division of Etwereso to, with immediate effect, cease to answer to him. They shall henceforth report directly to the Benkum Division at Begoro,” Lawyer Boateng announced.

He also confirmed that the Etweresohene has been removed from the Standing Committee, with his seat declared vacant. Traditional rites, including libation and the sacrifice of a sheep by the Akyeame and Nananom, were performed to seal the decision.

“Let it be known throughout Okyeman, from Kyebi to the furthest farmstead, that rebellion shall find no shelter under our sacred umbrella. Okyenhene does not break his own house, but when a man raises his hand against the house, the house will close its doors against him.

“We do not rejoice in this declaration. We mourn the fracture of kinship. But the custom is clear: he who denies the stool loses the stool. He who rejects the state is rejected by the state,” he added.