Some of the police and military men providing security at the forecourt of the Manhyia Palace
THE SECURITY arrangement at the Manhyia Palace in particular and Kumasi in general for the four-day burial ceremony of Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, the Asantehemaa, has been described by some mourners as excellent.
A sizeable number of police and military personnel has been positioned at vantage points in the Ashanti Regional capital, since the beginning of the sorrowful and historic event on Monday.
This paper gathered that apart from the armed police/military team who are visible, additional police men in mufti, are also operating at the funeral ground and in the city.
The number of security men and women who have been dispatched to ensure law and order is so huge that it would be extremely difficult for hoodlums to take advantage of the situation to operate.
There had been concerns that the grand nature of the late Asantehemaa’s burial ceremony might present a golden opportunity for hoodlums to terrorize innocent people who would be visiting the city.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command, led by COP Kofi Boakye, popularly known as Commander One, has given the assurance that his outfit is in firm control of the security situation and so nobody should panic.
From all indications, the security agencies had lived up to expectation on the second day of the burial ceremony as criminals had been crippled with the massive security presence in the city.
Most of the mourners commended the Ashanti Regional police command for the ‘professional security arrangement.’
They stated that the security personnel at the function had also brought about decency and orderliness at the forecourt of the Manhyia Palace where the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is receiving visitors.
Meanwhile, a high-powered delegation from the Police Headquarters in Accra, led by the IGP, John Kudalor, visited the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Tuesday to commiserate with the Asantehene, over the death of his mother – the Asantehemaa.
The IGP’s delegation, which included top police officers, urged the Asantehene, who sat in state surrounded by his elders, to take heart.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr & Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi