James Town chieftaincy clash leads to destruction of properties

In Ngleshie Alata James Town on Sunday morning, two opposing sides in a long-running chieftaincy dispute got into a fight that destroyed a lot of property and hurt a lot of people in different ways.

During the fight, a 2018 Toyota Corolla and two motorbikes were burned, but the police came and put out the fires. Some people were arrested to help with the investigation.

Since the late Paramount Chief Nii Kojo Ababio died, there has been a fight over who owns the Ngleshie Alata James Town stool. Two groups, Oblempong Wetse Kojo II and Nii Ahoma Kojo, have both claimed the stool as their own.

A spokesperson for Oblempong Wetse Kojo II, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that when they went to the palace to do some purification, they were attacked by a group with weapons.

“We went to the palace this morning without any cutlass, stone, sticks, or whatever. We were there performing some rituals when we saw some thugs coming with machetes, bottles, and stones to attack us. We did not attack anybody in the palace. Let’s ask the one claiming to be Nii Ahoma Kojo III what document is making him a chief?” he narrated in an interview on Metro TV.

Another report from a witness says that the Nii Ahoma Kojo III camp did not take part in the fight.

“We were sitting down when some guys came to the palace area. They were in one of the chief’s attire, Prince Bruce Kwei but they have written under the attire Wietse Kojo. They went into the palace, broke some doors, and entered. All of a sudden, some people who were always in the company of Wietse Kojo showed up and one person said ” blood must spill here today” and another person asked for all doors to be locked and nobody should be allowed to go out. We got scared and started running for our lives,” she stated.

A spokesperson for Oblempong Wetse Kojo II, on the other hand, said that they have the right to claim the stool.

“We have a judgment from the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, that is the kingmaker who only does the selection, election, nomination, election, and enstoolment of the chief of James Town. 15th June 2021, the judgment is there. Apart from that, there is a High Court mandamus that the chief should be gazetted within 14 days, that’s Oblempong Wetse Kojo II. Let’s ask the other claimant that what does he have before claiming the title as paramount chief?” he questioned.