File photo
Today, Monday 8 August 2016, it was announced by Kumasi Hello FM radio station that Kumawu has only one paramount chief. Yes, we, the subjects of Kumawuman, are very much aware of the fact that Kumawuman has only one legitimate paramount chief (“Omanhene”).
However, the radio station erroneously mentioned Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua as the said Kumawuhene. Whoever contracted them to put out such wrong information has not done them any favour. Whoever their source of information is, has done them a great disservice. For it is the required duty of any journalist to crosscheck any information passed on to them for authenticity before placing them in the public domain for public consumption.
As far as over 95% of Kumawuman population is aware, we have only one legitimate Kumawu Omanhene in the person of BARIMA TWENEBOA KODUA V who hails from the Kumawu-Ananangya royal family, the true matrilineal descendants of Barima Tweneboa Kodua I, the originator of the Kumawu Kodua Stool. He is the one who has been enstooled and accepted by the subjects of Kumawuman in line with our prevailing Kumawuman tradition and custom as regards enstoolment of new paramount chiefs.
Many an Asanteman subject coming from outside Kumawuman, believe that the alleged Kumawuhene Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, who in private life is Dr Yaw Sarfo, a complete puppet without comparison, was enstooled by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II hence he is a legitimate Kumawuhene. This same group of people believe that Dr Yaw Sarfo has been accepted by Asanteman Council and been gazetted, the seal of his legitimacy as Kumawuhene.
It really hurts me to see such a vast number of people still being ignorant about our chieftaincy histories, especially those involving enstoolments and destoolments of chiefs. It will do such group of people a great favour, save them from public embarrassment and subsequently enhance their chances of engaging in intellectual public or private debates on chieftaincy disputes if any such opportunity arose, by reading all my published articles on Kumawu chieftaincy affairs, or they had better search for proper history books to read.
Let it be known to Hello FM and her affiliate sister stations that:
1) A Kumawuhene-elect is not selected at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi under coercion by Asantehene and his supporting Kumasiman chiefs and other Asante Amanhene. 2) No bribery of the Kumawu kingmakers should ever be seen to take place when selecting/electing a prospective candidate for enstoolment as Kumawuhene-elect. 3) The inventory of Kumawu palace properties must be carried out before a new Kumawuhene is enstooled after the deceased of the occupying chief. 4) No Asantehene has the power to choose a candidate to be elected as Kumawuhene let alone, impose one on Kumawuman.
All the above enumerated points were seen to have contrarily occurred in the alleged selection and enstoolment of Dr Yaw Sarfo as the alleged Kumawuhene. This is clearly at variance with time-tested and prevailing Kumawu traditions and customs.
As I wouldn’t like to be a liar who will say my witness is far away or is nowhere close by, I shall refer the reading public to YouTube posting titled, “Asantehene involves in corruption” under the web link below to see how Kumawu traditions and custom on selection and enstoolment of a prospective candidate for Kumawuhene were disregarded or completely flouted by all those disgraceful chiefs gathered around at Manhyia Palace on 24 February 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac8wZIPlVu8
Again, Dr Yaw Sarfo’s purported enstoolment breaches conventions in place to regulate chieftaincy disputes. I shall advise readers to refer to Warrington Notes - Section 13 on Ashanti stool disputes; ACTS OF GHANA: Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29) – THE CRIMINAL CODE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2003 (ACT 646) – Sections 239 to 247; "THE POSITION OF CHIEF IN THE MODERN POLITICAL SYSTEM OF ASHANTI" - pages 210 to 212 (written by Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia); ASHANTI LAW AND CONSTITUTION written by J. S. Rattray and published in Oxford in 1929 - in page 233: Kumawu - Selection of the new Chief.
Simply refer to the following web link for comprehensive explanations on the conventions broken by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and his corrupt Asanteman Council.
https://www.modernghana.com/news/584823/re-asantehene-is-the-overlord-of-asanteman.html
Finally, Dr Yaw Sarfo going by the stool name Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, although claims to have been gazetted, he is running away from making it public the true certified copy of his Chieftaincy Declaration Forms 1 & 2. These forms are public records that must be made available to the public at all times but for likely committal of fraud of some sort, he is colluding with the registrars of Kumawu Traditional Council, Regional House of Chiefs, Kumasi and National House of Chiefs, Kumasi, to withhold the document from Kumawuman subjects requesting to have true certified copies.
In attempts to strengthen their efforts to hide the document which clearly constitutes a public record, they have petitioned the Chief Justice, Mrs Theodora Georgina Wood to assist them in preventing the release of the document to interested persons. I shall be publishing a counter open petition to the Chief Justice with attached true form copies of certain documents in my possession that will shock the public.
I pray the Chief Justice keeps her clean slate of personal record, her admired public integrity without seeking to get embroiled in the ongoing legal wrangling and tussle over the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute as the subjects of Kumawuman have vowed to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit to bring about justice and peace and development to Kumawuman. They will not take it kindly to any acts of plots by whomever to scupper their good intentions for the entire subjects and citizens of Kumawuma both home and abroad.
From all that is stated above, Dr Yaw Sarfo, alias Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, cannot in a million years to come be a legitimate Kumawuhene.
Lest I forget, have we forgotten the “Obo3 fa dadee fa” assertion against him by his own uncle Mr Osei Kwabena? That alone disqualifies him from ascending to the Kumawu Kodua Stool?
Asantehene Osei Tutu II can condone and connive with Kumawuhemaa, Dr Yaw Sarfo and other Asanteman chiefs, but he will not succeed in his evil enterprise to rob Kumawuman in such a broad daylight. He is only the Asante Overlord to those who are not abreast with history and are also as corrupt as him.
How dare I sit on the fence twirling my fingers while a fellow old “burger”, Mr Kwaku Duah, now Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, come to cheat the people of my ancestral place of birth because he is Kumasimanhene and a purported Asante Overlord?
I hope the radio stations will go back to do a proper research before putting out erroneous information on their airwaves to deceive the public. Will it not serve Kumasi-based Hello FM radio station better to go back to retract their statement made in bad faith?
I dedicate this publication to all people, especially history students studying Ashanti history on chieftaincy.
Rockson Adofo