Dr Blankson, whose stool name is King Tackie Tawiah III and is a member of the Law Review Commission, was installed on June 11, 2006 by Nii Akropong III, the Head of the Teiko Tsuru We, one of the four clans of the Ga State, to succeed Nii Amugi II, who passed away two years ago.
But the three other houses, Amugi We, Piam We and Tackie Komme We, distanced themselves from the purported installation, describing it as unlawful and against the traditions and customs of the Ga State. They therefore asked the public to ignore King Tackie Tawiah III while efforts were being made to get the right person to succeed the deceased king of the Ga people, who is also yet to be buried.
A press release signed by the acting heads of the three houses and issued in Accra on Thursday 15th June, 2006 said, “It has come to the notice of three of the four ruling houses of the Ga Royal Dzaase, namely, Amugi We, Tackie Komme We and Piam We, that on Sunday, June 11, 2006, one Dr Jo Blankson, aged 63, was purportedly installed as the new Ga Mantse under the stool name King Tackie Tawiah III by Nii Akropong III, the Head of the fourth ruling house, Teiko Tsuru We.
“The three ruling houses mentioned above wish to dissociate themselves from the installation, as it was done without their consent and the fact that the said installation was not done in accordance with Ga custom and usage.”
“Customarily, the deceased Ga Mantse, Nii Amugi II, should be laid to rest before the installation of his successor,” the release added.
However, the Head of the Nai We, the House of the Chief Priest of the Ga State, Numo Tumomli Yartey II, requested the public to recognise the new chief who had been installed. He said it was the turn of the Teiko Tsuru We to occupy the stool because when the late chief was installed, the cloth he wore was passed on to that house, “and by tradition the house which has that cloth is the one to select a successor to the throne”.
Numo Yartey said the new chief had been installed by Nii Akropong, the Head of the Teiko Tsuru We, as tradition demanded and in the presence of Nai Wulomo (the Chief Priest) and made it clear that the right proceedings had been followed.
Asafoatse Okpoti III of Asere, who is also from the Numo Yartey We, supported the claim that the four houses were made to select five members each to nominate a Dzaase.
He said after that was done, the man who was installed as such later refused to continue with the processes because he claimed to be a Christian whose values did not agree with the customary practices.
Asafoatse Okpoti said when the other houses were made to present the Dzaase, they refused to do so and, realising that the whole process was delaying, the Teiko Tsuru We had no option but to go ahead to ensure that Dr Blankson, whose turn it was to succeed Nii Amugi, was installed to pave the way for the chief to be laid to rest before the end of the year.
“What has been done is unquestionable and must not be challenged,” he noted. He said the Chief Priest himself had endorsed the process and that was final.
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