The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has advised politicians to desist from insulting chiefs.
The Overlord of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional area says the phenomenon is not only worrying but alien to Ghanaian Culture and therefore must be nipped in the bud.
The comment by Okyenhene appears to be his first public reaction on recent feud between the opposition National Democratic Congress and the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council over allegation of insult against him by the Ashanti Regional Secretary of NDC Kwame Zu.
Speaking at a unification durbar of the Asona Clan in Ghana in Kyebi on Saturday, Okyenhene also called for an end to politics of insult in the country.
“The youth must respect elders in society.The Politics of insult in this country must stop.Young people hiding behind politics to insult elders in society must all stop. A country without discipline will not progress so our advise is that, concentrate on your politics and work but don’t be insulting Chiefs that is not our culture as a country”.
On September 23,2019 the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council issued three day ultimatum to the National leadership of the Opposition NDC to render a direct,clear and unambiguous public apology to His Royal Majesty Okyenhene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin and Okyeman or risk being “banned from all official funtions Organized by the Ofori Panin stool and be declared Persona non grata in all palaces of the over 940 towns, villages and settlements in Akyem Abuakwa”.
Addressing the media after a protest on streets of Kyebi by Chiefs and Subjects in the traditional area, the state Secretary Daniel Marfo Ofori Atta stated that, apart from the apology the Council was demanding “a ritual pacification to be performed to appease His Majesty the Okyenhene, an apology rendered personally by Mr.Kwame Zu to the Okyenhene and a Public recantation of the offensive words and specific conduct complained off, and finally invocation of appropriate disciplinary sanctions of the party against the Conduct of Kwame Zu “.
The Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council stated that “should the NDC choose to ignore these pronouncements and demands ,Nananom will not accord them any future request for clemency and redemption of their transgressions”.
The Council subsequently served notice that any Chief in Akyem Abuakwa will be destooled if it acted in aberration to the ban on NDC executives from Branch,constituency,Regional and National Executives should the party fail to apologize.
Traditional Council catalogued various incidents of similar scathing attacks by prominent persons in the NDC including Julius Debrah, Tawiah boateng,Haruna Appaw Wiredu-both former regional Executives of NDC and Stan Dogbe against Okyenhene over the years under the leadership of John Mahama whom they accused of remaining silent.
The protest by the Akyem Abuakwa traditional Council was provoked by statement made by the Ashanti Regional Secretary of NDC, Kwame Zu while addressing participants of a demonstration by the Coalition for National Sovereignty that a water treatment project which was provided in the hometown of the current President, Kyebi, saved the Okyenhene from drinking from the same river with animals.
Responding to claims, the traditional council stated that, “Kyebi has had pipe borne Water since the year 1954-three Clear years before independent Ghana was born”.
According to the Council, the Kyebi Water Expansion project was initiated by President Kufuor in 2007 “funded by the taxpayers of Austria and completed in 2011 under President Mills” commending Former President Mahama for commissioning it.
Leadership Akyem Caucus of the NDC has since apologized to Okyenhene on behalf of the party.