Faction Of Agona Royals Seeks Asantehene’s Mercy

A faction of royals from Agona has sought the mercy of the King of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

They are pleading with the Asantehene to temper justice with mercy after their uncle filed a lawsuit against His Majesty about 20 years ago.

One Maame Amankwaa presented their plea through Nana Adusei Atwenewa Ampem, Tepahene, during the Asanteman Council meeting on July 28, 2025.

“She said they were not in agreement with what their uncle did.”

It comes as processes are ongoing to fill the Agona stool, which has been vacant following the death of Nana Frimpong Anokye Ababio, Agonahene, in 2022.

Per tradition, the Council members were given the chance to express their views about the plea.

There were differing opinions: some advocated mercy due to the stool’s spiritual significance, while others insisted on upholding the ban as a warning.

“They are descendants of Komfo Anokye. It is a spiritual matter we are talking about here. If we decide to send away everyone who errs, Asante won’t continue to be Asante. The plea was also brought through Tepa Barnie, another great Asante deity, so let’s just punish them and cut them off,” Nana Otuo Sereboe II opined.

“If we decide to forgive them, where will the deterring factor be. You take the Asantehene to court. Why didn’t you advise your uncle against his action? And even after his action, why have you waited all this while and now bring a plea?” another Paramount chief questioned.

Incident
Recalling the incident that transpired two decades ago, the Asantehene concluded that the royals in question were ingrates.

The said royals’ suit against the Asantehene and Asanteman, which they eventually lost at the High Court, Court of Appeal and subsequently at the Supreme Court, came after the King had conducted an investigation and found that the reigning queen at the time was not of the royal bloodline.

According to Otumfuo, the female stool was bequeathed by Nana Kwame Boakye, the then chief, to the sister of one Senkyire who had shown him some kindness.

Following the demise of the chief, the Queen sought to choose a successor; however, concerns were raised about her legitimacy.

At the time the current Asantehene ascended the Golden Stool, the case was pending in court as one Yaw Marfo, known as Lawyer Adusei of the royal family, had filed a suit against the Queen.

“When I ascended the Golden Stool, I ordered that they take the case out of court, which both parties complied.”

A thorough investigation by the Asanteman Council, led by the Asantehene, revealed she was not a royal.

Following the resolution, the Asantehene said he decided to honour Yaw Marfo by giving him the stool; however, he refused, citing health challenges. In his stead, he presented one Kwame Darkwa.

“Then I told him, ‘I only wanted to honour you but if you can’t ascend, go back and do the needful’. At the time, one Aunty Christy pushed for Berko to ascend the stool, which resulted in discord. I called them back and gave the kingmakers the chance to choose who they wanted. Four opted for Berko and three went in for Darkwa.”

Otumfuo then ordered that Berko be enstooled.

The twist in the issue came after Owusu Afriyie {who throughout the litigation was domiciled in London}, a member of the faction that wanted Darkwa, sued the Asantehene and Asanteman for the outcome.

“I sent him a message and warned him about the repercussions of his actions. I told him of all people, the descendants of Komfo Anokye are the least I expected this from. You are all aware of how he ended up.”

In addition, they seized the Amoampong deity and kept it out of the reach of the enstooled chief.

Restrain
The King said he exercised restraint over the issue of deity and allowed it to remain with them all these years due to sanctity, despite knowing its location.
“Not anyone can touch Amoampong because it is a valuable property of Asanteman. I could have sent security personnel to go for it. Besides, the rulership of Berko was nothing to write home about.”

His Majesty also shared a divine revelation of plots to keep the deity in their domain if the said royals failed to get one of their members enstooled as Agonahene.

Disappointment
Otumfuo did not mince words while expressing his disappointment in the faction for failing to render an apology for what their uncle did after many years.

To restore peace, Otumfuo said he personally confronted a member of the royal house about their conduct and their failure to do the needful.

“Right after the incident, I confronted Akua Assibey for staying silent. I waited for them to come and apologise all this while, but they never showed up.”

Decision
Otumfuo noted that he can perform the necessary rites and decide to leave the deity in their domain forever, so they bear the consequences.

His Majesty also chastised them for fighting over a stool when they had a pending issue to resolve.

“You have erred. You haven’t apologised, and yet you are fighting over a stool. You are apologising and yet you haven’t restored the property you stole, where is the remorse?”

To the Tepahene, the Asantehene noted that the deity must be returned to its place for the purification rites to be performed before they present their apology.

Source: https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/