Asantehene destools Kenyasehene over galamsey, others

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has removed Nana Kwabena Nsia Ababio from his position as Paramount Chief of Kenyase No. 2, ending a long reign due to alleged involvement in illegal mining and other serious customary violations.

The decision was announced during a sitting of the Asanteman Traditional Council in Kumasi. Following traditional protocols, the chief's footwear was removed, and a ram was slaughtered to solemnize the destoolment. This action concludes a significant period for one of Asanteman's longest-serving paramount chiefs.

The council's review was initiated by a petition from the Queen Mother of Kenyase No. 2, Nana Akua Tikwamaa. She sought Nana Kwabena Nsia Ababio's destoolment, leveling ten allegations including insubordination, indiscriminate land sales, and illegal destoolment of sub-chiefs. However, during proceedings, the Queen Mother systematically refuted these charges.

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The Asantehene reprimanded the chief for illegally establishing titles; including Hyiawohene, Akyempimhene, Sumankwaahene, Anantahene, and Atipimhene, and improperly allocating these unauthorised stools to his own children and sisters.

She testified that land transactions were made under the chief's direct orders and that the accused sub-chiefs remained in their posts. Countering the petition, she exposed irregularities, alleging that the chief's spouse, along with traditional officers and a local Town Planning Officer, had usurped authority, forged documents, and engaged in illegal land sales.

Further investigations revealed additional violations, including the chief's repeated disregard for traditional hierarchy, the unauthorized creation of traditional titles such as Hyiawohene and Akyempimhene, and reports of his involvement in illegal mining, known locally as 'galamsey.' The Asantehene emphasized that the chief lacked the traditional mandate to create these positions and that the land ultimately belongs to the Golden Stool. Consequently, the Asantehene stripped nearly all of the chief's kingmakers of their positions for violating their oaths of office.

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Having originally served as a courtier in Hyiawohemaa’s household, he lacked the traditional mandate to create such positions, emphasising that the land occupied by Kenyase No. 2 ultimately remains under the custodian authority of the Golden Stool.