Durbar and Symposium to Be Held in Commemoration of Sagrenti War

Two significant events will take place this February to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Sir Garnet Wolseley War, known as the Sagrenti War.

The war, fought in 1874, saw the destruction of the Palace of the then-Asantehene with explosives by the British, who were determined to subdue the Asantes into their fold.

This was after the British army had stolen some gold artefacts from the Palace, which they carried away to Europe and distributed across museums.

In commemorating this day, an 18-member planning committee selected by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II announced that a symposium would be held on February 6 to educate the public about the cause of the war and its outcomes.

The symposium will be held at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Speakers have been invited from all over the world.

Among them are Prof Emmanuel Akyeampong, who is the Oppenheimer Faculty Director of the Harvard University Centre for African Studies and Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and Dr Tom McCaskie, the Head of the Centre of West African Studies at Birmingham University.

Dr  McCaskie has authored a book on the Sagrenti War.

The dress code for the symposium is anything but white, as announced by Chairman of the Committee Daasebre Otuo Siriboe last week.

This will be followed by a durbar on February 8 at the Manhyia Palace, where Asanteman will reflect on the impact of the war.

“On Thursday, we will hold a durbar at Dwabrem to commemorate the Day. The dress code is black.”