Asanteman Council brings peace to Kumawu

Chieftaincy disputes are destructive. In many communities , disputes have torn families apart; resulted in loss of lives, properties: and stalled development.

But thanks be to God that in the Asanteman traditional setup, very little can be said about the harm chieftaincy disputes had brought on the people.

When the problem raises its ugly head, there is always the Asanteman Council,ready through its arbitration court headed by the the Asantehene, to take control of affairs to ensure normalcy without resort to violence.

On August 23, 2013, the arbitration court added to its growing list of settled cases, when it gave a landmark ruling in the seven- year-old Kumawu chieftaincy dispute , paving the way to begin the process for the enstoolment of a new Omanhene to succeed the late Barima Asumadu Sakyi II.

The ruling brought a sigh of relief to  the peace-loving people of the traditional area, who have had to live in fear for a long time.

The Arbitration Court of the Asanteman Council has over the years played  a laudable role in the judicial system of traditional Ashanti.

The Kumawu case was tricky and delicate but the extraordinary judicial position occupied by  the Arbitration Court in the judicial system of traditional Ashanti came into play.

A group from the Kumawu royal family had invoked the Asantehene's Great Oath (Ntamkesie) to the effect that the queenmother of the Kumawu Traditional Area, Nana Serwaa Amponsah, who was enstooled 23 years ago, was of Fulani descent.

According to them, the Ankaase royals of Kumawu, one of whom is the queenmother, have their ancestry in a  Fulani girl who was purchased in the olden days and sent to the palace of the Kumawuhene to help in household chores.

A ruling in favour of the petitioners would have seen the destoolment of the queenmother. But after months of adjudication, the court dismissed the petition and affirmed the legitimacy of the queenmother.

As a court of records where all proceedings and transactions are recorded, it took its time to critically examine all the evidences before it, as well as records at the Manhyia Archives, to arrive at the decision that the queen was a true royal.

The arbitration process was open and fair by all standards. Indeed, just after the ruling, the petitioners and the queenmother accepted the ruling and commended the Asantehene and the court for the outcome.

Since the installation of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asanteman Arbitration Court has adjudicated and settled over 2,000 chieftaincy cases coming not only from the Ashanti Region but other areas in the Brong Ahafo Region where the authority of the Asantehene extends.

In the Ashanti traditional system, the powers of the chief are expressed in many areas within his administration one of which is his court.

For the Kumawu case, the court sat in full with the Asantehene at the head of proceedings and supported by the paramount chiefs who owe allegiance to him.

The dispute over the queen mother's lineage formed part of the six-year chieftaincy dispute that had ripped Kumawu apart.

Following the ruling, the Asantehene who sits at the head of the court, set the process for the nomination, selection and installation of a new Omanhene of the area to succeed the late Barima Asumadu Sakyi, who died on July 11, 2007.

Kumawu occupies a respectable place in Ashanti traditional system. The Kumawu stool is one of the five paramount stools that came together to form a union known as the Amantuo Num to accept the Golden Stool as a symbol of unity and to swore the oath of allegiance to the founder of Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I. The other states were Kwamang, Mampong, Esumeja and Juaben.

History has it that the Kumawuhene, Barima Tweneboa Kodua, exhibited exceptional fighting spirit in the Asante Coalition Forces'   in one of the Denkyira wars of independence.

Eventually, the chief was asked by Okomfo Anokye to sacrifice his life to ensure that they  gained their independence from Denkyira as they prepared for another fight.

Barima Tweneboa Kodua consequently gave  his life, as his head was severed  for rituals to ensure that Asante won the war of independence against the Denkyiras. That was why the title Barima was given to the paramount chiefs of Kumawu by Otumfuo Osei Tutu I.

Politically, Kumawu is the capital of the Sekyere Kumawu District. The district is one of the richest agrarian districts in the  Ashanti Region.

Over the years citizens of the area have contributed in no small way to national development. The immediate past Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour, is from Kuwamu. The famous late industrialist, Mr B.A. Mensah, was from Kumawu. The two constitute just a small part of the many high ranking personalities coming from the area.

But since the chieftaincy dispute started, the area had not known peace. With accusations and counter-accusations, mixed with suspicion and under-cutting, the political authority has found it difficult getting through with some of its development projects.

Now with the dispute over the status of the queenmother settled, the question is who becomes the next Omanhene of Kumawu?

Some names are already making the rounds but these are yet to be confirmed. In the Ashanti tradition, interested candidates would have to send drinks to the queen mother to announce their intention to occupy the stool.

By Kwame Asare Boadu/Daily Graphic/Ghana