Amanase Chiefs Begs Okyenehene After Alledgely Sold Community's Cemetery To An Investor

The sub-chiefs of Amanase, led by the Gyaasehene, Nana Addo Agyekum, begged the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, yesterday over allegations that he authorized the sale of an old cemetery to an investor for the construction of a gas station.


This follows earlier allegations from last month that the royal cemetery of Amanase, a community along the Accra-Kumasi Highway in the Ayensuano District of the Eastern Region, was sold to an investor by the Okyenhene.

The Suhum District Police Command then invaded the Amanase chief's palace to retrieve fresh human remains and skeletons said to have been preserved there for two years by the Gyaasehene, Nana Addo Agyekum, who is now the Amanase regent.

When interviewed by the media, the Gyaasehene stated, "The cemetery has been sold to an investor, so we must exhume the corpses. Therefore, Okyenhene Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin himself ordered that the corpses be exhumed to allow the investor to develop the land; consequently, we convened a community durbar and invited everyone, including pastors and opinion leaders, to discuss the issue."


According to him, after exhuming the corpses, it became apparent that a new royal cemetery was required to reinter the remains of the deceased chiefs. We attempted multiple times to acquire designated land for this purpose but were unsuccessful, so we decided to store the corpses in a room at the palace until we obtain a cemetery. We sent two fresh corpses to Suhum Government Hospital, but only one was buried; the other is still in the morgue."

Yesterday, when he was called before the Kyebi Judiciary Council to answer queries, he was unable to justify what he had said other than by groveling before the Okyenhene.

In his remarks, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin conveyed his displeasure with the way the sub-chiefs of Amanase have tarnished his reputation by accusing him of selling an old cemetery to an investor.

After the chiefs begged for forgiveness on their knees, he referred the matter to the Kyebi Executive Council for action.


The Kyebi Executive Council, commanded by the Kyebi Chief, and the Adontendomhene, Oheneba Kwabena Marfo, fined them twenty-four sheep, twenty-four bottles of schnapps, and twenty-four thousand Ghana cedis.

To appease the gods and the Okyenman stools, the charges were reduced to six lambs, two cartons of schnapps, and two thousand Ghana cedis.

After appealing, the Amanase chiefs were requested to deliver the items to Okyeman Palace today.


Okyenhene characterized the actions of the elders of Amanase as a "evil" plot to tarnish his reputation and expose him to public derision. He also stated that the allegations against him are false and without merit, and that he was unaware of it.

Background

Last month, the Suhum District Police Command infiltrated the palace of the Amanase chief in order to retrieve fresh human remains and skeletons stored at the palace.

After making such statements at a press conference on Friday, April 21, 2022, Amanase Gyasehene explained that the cemetery was sold to an investor in 2012 by late chief Nana Asamoah Darkwaa in the presence of Osabarima Asamoah Asare Ampofo, Abena Asamoabea, and one teacher Offei.

He noted that there was opposition when the investor petitioned the Judicial Committee of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council, presided over by Okyenhene Osei Tutu Amoatia Ofori Panin, who ruled in favor of the investor and issued an exhumation order.

"Based on this evidence, I want to state categorically that Okyenhene Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin had nothing to do with the sale of the old Amanase cemetery, which was conducted by our predecessors (Nananom). Therefore, it is not true that Okyenhene is behind the sale of Amanase old cemetery land, as has been reported in the media."

The carcasses and skeletons were allegedly kept at the palace for two years by the Gyaasehene, Nana Addo Agyekum, who is the current regent of Amanase, after they were exhumed from the royal cemetery, which has since been sold to an investor for redevelopment.

Some deceased Amanase chiefs and royals were among the exhumed corpses, and their presence at the palace reportedly caused an uproar when discovered by members of the royal family.