The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, publicly reprimanded a subchief over double sale of land under his jurisdiction.
One of the two victims dragged the chief to Manhyia, the Otumfuo’s Palace in Kumasi, where the chief was severely questioned outside the regular royal court sitting.
In a video shared on social media and sighted by GhanaWeb, Otumfuo surrounded by his subjects and aides were standing in his courtyard whiles the chief and his entourage and the complainant were being questioned directly by the Asantehene.
GhanaWeb is unable as yet to determine when the incident took place.
At different points in the video, the voice of the Otumfuo goes high when he asks questions relating to injustice and abuse of power as exercised by the chief.
According to the original owner, the issue had been adjudicated at the royal court in 2014 before she dragged the chief to normal court because he refused to obey outcome of the Palace arbitration.
She added, that despite record from the Palace process, the chief denied that the matter had been heard at Manhyia when he was summoned by the courts.
Otumfuo has in the last few months announced his intention to clamp down on chiefs engaged in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) and the double sale of land.
A number of them have been threatened with possible destoolment.
Read an English transcript of their exchanges:
Otumfuo: Has she bought land from you?
Sub-chief: She took land from me
Otumfuo: She bought it from you, and you allowed someone else access to the land
Sub-chief: Your Highness…
Otumfuo: You allowed someone on the same parcel, accept that, simple and short!
Sub-chief: Someone else is working on the parcel
Otumfuo: Why is that the case?
Sub-chief: I did a reentry
Otumfuo: Did you inform her? (he answered in the positive) and what happened?
Sub-chief: When I informed her, she dragged me to court.
Otumfuo: Why did you inform her and resell the parcel
Sub-chief: I haven’t sold it, the situation is ….
Otumfuo: If you misbehave, I will destool you immediately… if you sell a land and make a reentry but fail to inform the first person, why allow someone else, now the matter is being thrashed what are insinuating? That you are wiser than everyone else? Is someone not on the land?
Victim: Nana, there are four plots and he informed me that he has taken back his property. I have been to Manhyia as far back as 2014 but when we went to court, he denied coming to Manhyia over the matter… and I have a witnesses
It is such nonsense that I dislike. When you are entrusted with power, you abuse it and lord it over weak people like this woman … because of the power you have, if you are destooled, what of it would be left?
This is the kind of nonsense I hate, so how does she get her land back? You have also taken her money, you expect me to look aloof as chieftaincy is use to bully citizens? Today, they are less than you so you treat them anyhow.
I can imagine how you deal with them at your palace. Because she is in a weak position you are misbehaving despite taking money for the land, did she not purchase the land from you? What happens now? She went to court and you remained on your grounds, a clear sign you were out to dupe her, is that not the case?
Source: ghanaweb.com
