A viral video showing how some aggrieved Ga youths recently besieged the Dodowa office of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs (GARHC), hooting at its current President, Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III who doubles as the Paramount Chief of Nungua Traditional Area.
Following a court session by the Judicial Committee of GARHC in Dodowa, the youths
were seen in a viral video chasing and shouting insults at the prominent Ga chief.
King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III, accompanied by traditional office holders and police escorts, faced the embarrassing confrontation, which nearly turned physical before police intervention.
The angry youths, some of them clad in white traditional attire, were heard in Ga dialect hurling insults and curses at the chief.
Sources close to GARHC in Dodowa suggest their anger stemmed from perceived bias in a recent chieftaincy case handled by the Judicial Committee of GARHC.
In the video, the group’s leader performed a libation ritual to invoke curses on Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III and other committee members involved in the disputed ruling.
The exact nature of their grievances remains unclear, but tensions highlight growing discontent over chieftaincy disputes in the region.
The growing corrupt practices and wrong doings currently ongoing at GARHC in Dodowa under leadership of Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III need an urgent action of the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon Ahmed Ibrahim to safeguard the alarming situation.
The youths have raised concerns about the unending chieftaincy disputes in Greater Accra Region and blamed the escalation of the matter on the rise of corruption practices in the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs.
Following this development, they have called on the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim and the Acting Chief Justice (CJ) of Ghana’s Judiciary, Mr. Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and Greater Accra Regional Minister, Madam Linda Akweley Ocloo
to intervene and instruct the Judicial Committee of the GARHC to cease handling chieftaincy matters.
The youths argued that some of the chiefs who sit on the GARHC’s Judicial Committee are themselves embroiled in ongoing legal disputes over their chieftaincy statuses.
They believe it is a violation of legal principles
for these chiefs to be involved in adjudicating chieftaincy disputes while their own cases remain pending in the courts.
Recently Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III has been exposed of attempting to persuade the Acting President of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Council, Nii Armah Kwaofio II to sign the Chieftaincy Declaration (CD) form for Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye.
Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III who doubles as the Paramount Chief Of Nungua Traditional Area is reportedly invited Nii Armah Kwaofio II through the Registrar of GARHC, Mr. Addo Enoch to his house at Nungua in Accra.
The letter invited Nii Armah Kwaofio II was dated September 10, 2021 and that the previous meeting was scheduled on Monday September 13, 2021, according to the one page letter in possession of this news outlet.
The news outlet understands that when Nii Armah Kwaofio II honoured the invitation of GARHC’s President to his house at Nungua, the prominent Ga Chief ordered him [Nii Armah Kwaofio Il] to sign the CD forms to give the traditional legal backing for Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye to be gazetted into the register of the chiefs as the Paramount Chief of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area.
In order to support these illegalities, Nii Armah Kwaofio II was reported to have refused to sign the CD Form for Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye and returned home with the reason that the purported installation of Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye, who declared himself as the paramount chief of the Ngleshie Alata Traditional is still remains illegal and unlawful.
Although GARHC’s President didn’t succeed in pursuing Nii Armah Kwaofio to sign the CD form for Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye, they had adopted another strategies to influence some non-royals of James Town Royal Paramount Stool to sign the CD Forms for Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye.
Some months ago, the membership of the GARHC led by Nungua Mantse had supported illegalities of Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye by way of performing various rituals to induct embattled Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye into the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs which has greeted with legal action against Prince Asharku Bruce Quaye.
But in a quick rebuttal, the accredited elders of the Ngleshie Adanse Clan of the Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area in James Town, Accra, have strongly condemned the recent induction of Prince Asharku Bruce-Quaye into GARHC as Paramount Chief of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area, explaining that Prince Asharku Bruce-Quaye is not James Town Mantse.
Consequently, the elders accused the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs of supporting illegalities of Prince Asharku Bruce-Quaye who is parading himself as Paramount of the area which situation has created division, tension, insecurity and confusion within Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area.
They indicated that It is therefore absurd and unconscionable to any right thinking person to fathom the reasoning behind what the representatives of traditional areas of Accra in the Regional House of Chiefs and their President have done.
According to the elders, the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs and their President are very much aware of the numerous courts’ cases both civil and traditional ( a current case is in the Kumasi High Court) against Prince Asharku Bruce- Quaye but intentionally went ahead unperturbed to register him among the chiefs recognized by that house.
“Why? What is the reason behind this? How sad. By this act, it has become very clear that the Regional House of Chiefs wants the people of
Ngleshie Alata to fight among themselves and kill each other.
“It is amazing to consider for example, an individual from Osu a completely different clan, to be enstooled a chief in Nungua another different clan.
“This is absurd. As already stated supra, Prince Asharku Bruce-Quaye hails from Anumansa otherwise known as Kweikuma Tsoshishi a clan within James Town, but not Adanse Clan. He has no relation in Adanse Clan why is Prince Asharku Bruce- Quaye forcing himself to be seen as an Adanse clan subject,” the elders clarified.
In a strong worded press statement, the elders described the induction as illegal and fraudulent, citing ongoing legal disputes over Bruce-Quaye’s legitimacy.
They provided historical documentary proof to support their claim that Prince Asharku Bruce-Quaye installation was done without following due customary and traditional procedures and that he does not belong to the rightful ruling royal house,Adanse Mantse We, which is next in line to produce a paramount chief.
Accordibg to the elders of the clan, there are two ruling houses in James Town, Adjumanku Dawurampon and Adanse Mantse We.
They explained that these two houses provide the paramount chief on a rotational basis, adding that the late paramount chief of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area, Oblempon Kojo Ababio V came from the Adjumanku Dawurampon house.
The elders clarified that it is now the turn of Adanse Mantse We to provide a candidate.
“Now, Prince Asharku- Bruce Quaye does not even meet the first criteria for selection.
“He does not hail from Adanse Mantse We. He comes from Anumansa also known as Kwei Kuma Tsoshishi. That basically disqualifies
him. Now lets look at the rites he claims he has gone through to become a so called paramount chief.
They also accused Bruce-Quaye of forcefully breaking into the James Town Stool Room to undergo unlawful rites, further invalidating his claim to the title.
They called on the Regional House of Chiefs to reverse his induction, warning that failure to do so could lead to unrest.
With multiple court cases challenging his legitimacy, the elders of Ngleshie Adanse Clan insists that any attempt to impose Bruce-Quaye on the people of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area will be met with legal action.
The elders cautioned all those involved in trying to force Prince Asharku Quaye on Ngleshie Alata to stop what they are doing and allow the proper customary and traditional things to be done, otherwise there is a real potential of serious trouble erupting.
They fumed that “We will use all options available to us including legal options reverse what has been done and revert back to the status quo ante.”
Additionally, the Registrar at the Dodowa office of
GARHC, Mr Addo Enoch and one lady by name Priscilla popularly known as Mammy Osofo including Registrar of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area, Mr Jeffrey Lomo have also been exposed for wrong doings which had affected effective justice delivery systems in chieftaincy institutions in Accra.
The alarming corrupt practices had informed a growing demand placed on Chieftaincy Minister to muster up the courage to transfer Mr Addo Enoch, Mr Jeffrey Lomo and Priscilla to help settle the long running James Town Royal Paramount Chieftaincy dispute at Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area in Accra.
The call has become very necessary because, according to the information available to this news outlet, Mr Enoch, Mr Lomo and Priscilla, were interfering in the paramount chieftaincy matters in the area.
Mr Addo Enoch was alleged to have played a leading role in wrongful transfer of the former Registrar of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Council, Madam Mercy Asante to the Dodowa office of GARHC, she is working at her current office without any portfolio, making her looks sad and dormant.
The Chieftaincy Minister was asked to commission a full scale of investigations in the illegalities of Mr Addo Enoch and Priscilla at the GARHC by way of inviting Madam Mercy Asante to testify on how she was wrongfully transferred from the office of Ngleshie Alata Traditional Council on the direct influence of Mr Addo Enoch.
The foregoing call on the Sector Minister by a cross section of youth groups and kingmakers follow the current surge of insecurity, tensions and confusions at James Town in Accra, in relation on how Mr Addo Enoch, Mr Jeffrey Lomo and Madam Priscilla were exposed for interfering and influencing various chieftaincy cases in Ngleshie Alata Traditional Council and GARHC.
The three persons were reported to have been conflicting James Town Royal Paramount Stool chieftaincy case at GARHC which situation has becoming a growing concern to youths and kingmakers persistent cases of chieftaincy conflict in Accra.
The three were accused for lending supreme support through President of GARHC, Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III to Prince Ashiaku Bruce Quaye to use abrupt force to wrongfully take over chieftaincy status in James Town, under the Stool name Obrempong Wetse Kojo II.