The Japekrom paramount chief (middle) International Press Centre
President of Japekrom Traditional Council in the Brong Ahafo Region, Okatakyie Amoa Aturu Nkonkonkyia II, has called for an end to the branding of Japekrom and its stool lands as Drobo.
Addressing the media on Monday in Accra, the Paramount Chief of Mpuasu-Japekrom Traditional Area said “the Japekrom Traditional Council shall not tolerate the branding of Japekrom or Mpuasu-Japekrom Stool land and any of the settlements on its lands in any manner suggestive of belonging to another traditional entity other than Japekrom.”
“Legal remedy and any other actions acceptable by traditional custom shall be employed as and when necessary,” the Chief said.
He stressed that “all entities in the stated geographical area, being corporate bodies, public institutions, churches, businesses, prospective developers and individuals are to particularly take notice that they have come to settle in Japekrom and are wholly part of the Japekrom City and that they are most welcome.”
That, he said, was because “Japekrom and Drobo are two different towns located at different geographical positions, and in fact different districts within the Brong Ahafo Region. The township of Japekrom is in the Jaman South District while the township of Drobo is in the Jaman North District.”
Explaining further, he said “the true facts are that the paramount chief of Drobo, Nana Bosea Gyinantwi IV, arbitrarily allocated portions of Japekrom Stool lands to prospective developers without the consent of the Japekromhene of the Japekrom Traditional Council.”
“He demarcated such plots at Japekrom on a town plan scheme he initially named “New Drobo,” subsequently dropping the prefix “New” and calling the scheme “Drobo,” the president of the Japekrom Traditional Council said.
According to him, the Drobo Paramount Chief “sought to legitimize his unlawful demarcations by joining a suit initiated by the Assemblies of God Church in the year 1996, which had been allocated part of the Japekrom town lands by the Drobo Traditional Council under Drobohene’s leadership.’
The Drobo Traditional Council, he explained, “as part of the suit sought to claim all the stool lands forming the Mpuasu-Japekrom Traditional Area plus others.”
Ruling
He indicated that the case span from the High Court (Suit No. LS. 28/29) through to the Court of Appeal and ended at the Supreme Court of Ghana (Civil Appeal No. J4/49/2015)
“Drobohene’s claim was refused by all these courts with a final judgement from the Supreme Court of Ghana on 19th of November, 2015 in favour of the Japekrom Stool,” the chief indicated.
He further noted that the Supreme Court “reaffirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeal that declared the Japekromhene holder of allodia title to the said lands labeled New Drobo, including the illegal “Drobo Planning Scheme.”
But he said the Supreme Court order had been violated and that the Drobohene and his followers were still claiming ownership of lands belonging to Japekrom, indicating that the lawyer representing the Drobo side had written a letter that the ruling of the Supreme Court is ‘flawed’ and cannot be abide by.
Efforts by DAILY GUIDE to get the Paramount Chief of Drobo Traditional Council to comment on the matter proved futile.
By Melvin Tarlue