Akwamuhene rules out chieftaincy troubles in dastardly African American murders

Paramount chief of the Akwamu Traditional Area Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III has dismissed claims, the murder of two African-American women at Akwamufie is linked to a chieftaincy dispute in the area.

“What I want to tell the world that this case is a crime that has been committed and the police will have to treat it as such” he spoke exclusively to JOYNEWS Friday.

The chief explained that although there has been some misunderstanding between the African American Community at Fiahnkra and the people of Appiahkrom, the death of the two American citizens cannot be blamed on that.

“There has been a lot of misunderstanding….I know if you ask the police you will have a lot of cases that have been reported there”, he said.

The deceased, Mamelina Diop, 75 and Nzinga Janna, 69 had been missing for a while and were found after a search party organized by Akwamuhene, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III in conjunction with the police found the deceased persons on Wednesday

They were buried in the same shallow grave about 300 meteres away from their home.

Fiahnkra was a piece of land given to diasporians who had decided to live in Ghana because they believed Ghana was their true home before slavery wrenched them from the land of their birth.

For about two decades, the disaporians lived there and set up their own traditional authority in Fiahnkra. The name ‘Fiaha’ means ‘leave here’ while ‘nkra’ – without saying goodbye.

But a land dispute over the year has created tension within the community. The Attorney-General called for an amicable settlement after the two filed a suit against the Chieftaincy Minister Dr Seidu Danaa who had accused them of holding themselves as chiefs.

“I have heard speculations going around saying their case is related to chieftaincy. Akwamus as a people also have our own problems as every other chieftaincy institution in Ghana, it is not only Akwamu” the chief said.

Meanwhile a security assessment of the Fiahnkra, a gated community where the African Americans live revealed a fragile security situation.

Only two police officers are positioned at the main entrance. There are other access routes into the community.

Chief security officer at Fiankra, Michael Hazor, in an interview with Joy News’ Felix Akoyam said “we were on duty but the two main gates are a little bit far from where we are.”