Yamoah Ponkoh Must Be Forced to Reveal His Anti-Manhyia “Elements”

It is a story that I have been following with lukewarm interest, because operatives of the British media are not known to have any remarkable modicum of respect for our kings and traditional rulers the way they have towards their own monarchs and their monarchical system in general. I am here, of course, referring to the alleged money-laundering accusation levelled against His Royal Majestry, The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei-Tutu, II (See “NPP Behind Asantehene’s Money-Laundering Saga – YamoahPonkoh” Adomonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 10/13/17).

This column, however, is in response to the unacceptably crude and savagely virulent attempt by Mr. YamoahPonkoh, the former National Democratic Congress’ appointed Municipal Chief Executive Officer of the Edweso/Ejisu-Dwaben/Juaben Municipality, to draw the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) into what some local Ghanaian media operatives are calling “the swirling scandal around Otumfuo, The Asantehene.” Very likely, the aforesaid accusation has little or absolutely nothing to do with partisan politics and everything to do with the internal dynamics of the preeminent Asante and Ghanaian royal family (of which yours truly is a bona fide grandson, by way of Akyem-Asiakwa, Asante-Dwaben and Nkoranza).

I make the preceding observation because several years ago, the Akyempemhene of Asanteman and son of the late Otumfuo Opoku-Ware, II, publicly accused his father’s successor of having stashed up a considerable amount of unspecified wealth abroad. I never followed up the story to find out how that rather unusually intemperate accusation was resolved by these two very prominent relatives. What I vividly recall observing at the time was that as a monarch of global recognition and diplomatic reach, it was not totally inconceivable to expect His Royal Majesty to own property abroad, taking into account the fact that prior to his accession to the Golden Stool, Otumfuo Osei-Tutu, II, had spent considerable time either schooling and/or working abroad.

Then also, the Asantehene is a well-traveled man who may want to have his own private real-estate properties in countries and places abroad where he frequently travels or vacations, instead of having to book himself into cutthroat or unacceptably expensive hotels like New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria, where I once had the privilege of meeting him, together with the Paramount King of Asante-Mampong and the Krontihene of the Asante Nation, Odeefuo Osei-Bonsu.

The dastardly attempt by an obviously desperate and degenerate political loser like Mr. YamoahPonkoh must be vehemently challenged. The NDC piranha must be forced to name the purported “elements” of the ruling New Patriotic Party who he claims are behind the alleged $350,000 money-laundering accusation against Otumfuo Osei-Tutu, II. He must not be allowed to get away with this veritable capital crime.

Of course, there are much safer and far cheaper means of scoring political points against his overwhelmingly triumphant New Patriotic Party ideological opponents. Maligning the Asantehene by the deployment of cynical mischief is definitely not one of them.

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