A legal practitioner, Kwame Gyan, who has studied Ghana�s chieftaincy institution extensively, says the status of the Asantehene is above all other chiefs in the country.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, recently caused a stir when he threatened to arrest the Techiman Chief if the Atta Mills government failed to do so.
The Techiman Chief had allegedly caused the arrest and humiliation of the Tuobodom chief who owes allegiance to the Asantehene.
The government responded almost immediately to the Asantehene�s threat by sending a delegation of National security experts to hold discussions with the King on how to solve the problem amicably.
Mr Gyan, speaking to Citi Breakfast show host Moro Awudu on Thursday, March 18 said the Chieftaincy Act of 1971 and the amended Act of 2008 both give prominence to the Asantehene in terms of ranking among colleague paramount chiefs.
Only the Asantehene is explicitly singled out in that class of chiefs, which is the highest in the ranking.
�Our laws have ranked chiefs, the Chieftancy act of 1971, section 41 says�the categories of Chiefs are (a), the Asantehene and paramount chiefs (b) divisional chiefs (c) sub divisional chiefs (d) adikurofo and (e) any chief not falling within any of the preceding categories as are recognized by the regional house of chiefs�the question is if the laws of Ghana says categories of Chief are Asantehene and paramount chiefs, are you going to say that the Asantehene is also a paramount chief? In my view, no.� He said.� He said.
Some people have shown concern that the level of privilege the Asantehene enjoys in Ghana has made him too powerful to the detriment of other equally important chiefs in the country.
Lawyer Kwame Gyan says the Constitutional prominence accorded the Asantehene in the Chieftaincy Acts of 1971 and 2008 stems from the respect accorded him by his subjects, which has essentially put him above all other chiefs in the country over the decades.
�The Asantehene�s status partly depends on the recognition and esteem in which his subjects hold him. I don�t believe that it is the republic itself that has accorded him that status which he enjoys. The other chiefs, let their people also give them that status and let them also enjoy it.� He added.
Source: Citifmonline/Ghana
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
Asantehene cannot be a king for the Kumasi people, let alone Asantes, because Asanteman is neither an independent state nor a sovereign territory, and Asantehene is not the head of state. When we say there is no king in Ghana, we are referring to parts of Ghana as well. The Pope is king for the people of Vatican City, and their population is less than 1000, and there is no Paramount Chief there. Vatican City is in Italy. That means Kumasi alone can be a kingdom if it's an independent state, and Otumfour Osei Tutu II is the head of state. The same applies to any traditional area in Ghana, such as Dormaa and Accra. Read Article 57. The president of the republic of Ghana takes precedence over citizens of Ghana, and Asantehene is a citizen of Ghana just as other chiefs are. The song "Obi nyaa saa bi a, anka ɔbɛyɛbi" wasn't composed for Kings of Lesotho, Morocco & Eswatini. It's for fellow chiefs of other tribes in Ghana. Otumfour is now a tourist chief. He go travel saa taya, still his is a chief according to the chieftaincy Acts 1960, 1971 and 2008.... Kingdom is always a country . Every chiefdom in Ghana today existed before the British government colonized Ghana. They are all intact, except that there is no kingdom in Ghana today. 1. King rules an independent state and he is a head of state. Every kingdom is an independent country or state. So, the Pope is king in Vatican city. Lesotho is kingdom in south Africa.. None qualifies in Ghana currently. 2. No chief owns land in Ghana. They are custodians. Read article 267 of the constitution and pay attention to clause 6. Also, read 257 clause 6. http://www.royaltymonarchy.com/sovereigns/0000PW.html THERE IS NO KING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLIC UNITARY OF GHANA. Asantehene Prempeh II was the first Asantehene, who was referred to as Otumfour in 1935, probably the reason why Akwamuhene has stopped using the Otumfour title since 1937. He was the first president of the National House of Chiefs. If the headmaster has invited the school prefect to an event, it doesn't mean the school prefect has been elevated to the status of a teacher. This simply means there is no King in Ghana. It's a lie that a certain tribe was given a separate independence in 1935. Collapsing a kingdom in 1896 and allowing it to be reorganized into a chiefdom in 1935 doesn't mean independence was granted to the Asanteman union from the Gold Coast by the British Monarchical government. Otumfour is the Paramount chief of Kumasi traditional area (section 13 of chieftaincy acts 1971 and 2008).
https://www.infoplease.com/world/social-statistics/kingdoms-and-monarchs-world The beef between two journalists😃😃 It was captain smart who created and propagated that fake story that Asantehehe is ranked 3rd among kings in the world when Asantehehe is a chief with no political authority, #not king, not head of state and no independent territory. 😃
If the Asantehene was meant to be higher than the others in the category he is in, he would have been the only one in that category. Other paramount chiefs would have been moved one step down. The reason he is always mentioned by name is due to the uniqueness of his situation: his paramountcy covers the geographical regional boundary so its necessary to mention him for the sake of clarity. Chieftaincy Act, 2008 - Act 759 Categories of chiefs 58. The following are the categories of chiefs (a) the Asantehene and Paramount Chiefs, (b) Divisional Chiefs, (c) Sub-divisional Chiefs, (d) Adikrofo, and (e) other chiefs recognized by the National House
These self proclamation is completely needless. Which king in the country would recognise the Asante king as a superior king? The population of the Asantes makes it attractive to political parties who would want to gain some votes in the region thus making the Asantehene relevant in the scheme of affairs.
The Asantehene is equal to a paramount chief.to the extent that he is respected by his subjects, he is important to them. I don't care about him to the extent the he means nothing to me. Read the law well.he is not the most important chief/King in the county. Where did the wife got the title Lady from. I am sure it is a shame.