The queen mother’s belongings thrown out of the palance
The police at Kato in the Bono Region have been patrolling the streets of the town following physical attacks on the queen mother of the area, Obaapanyin Afia Asiraa III.
Two other persons – Afia Bia and Kojo Boateng – had also sustained some injuries alongside the queen mother in what is believed to be a protracted chieftaincy dispute.
Osabarima Kwabena Diawuo Owusu II, the Werempehene of Berekum Traditional Council, who doubles as the chief of Kato, told DAILY GUIDE that the blame must be put squarely on the police for failing to arrest the perpetrators whom he claimed had been attacking the queen mother with impunity.
He said but for the ‘spiritual prowess’ of Obaapanyin Afia Asiraa III, she would have been killed.
The chief said the machete and pieces of wood used to attack the queen mother by the assailants bounced back several times.
He said she was about to take her bath when the assailants took off her clothe and tore it. Besides, they dragged her out naked from the palace and hurled her belongings outside. He added that her personal belongings had been kept at the Berekum Divisional Police Command.
The chief said the assailants had the audacity to slaughter a ram, prepare a meal and had a good time in the queen mother’s house without being arrested. He claimed the police from Berekum arrived at the scene but didn’t take any action, adding that reinforcement from Sunyani later eased the tension in the town.
DAILY GUIDE checks indicate one of the suspects was later arrested at the Fiapre tollbooth when he tried to escape from the region with a mobile phone and a necklace belonging to the queen mother.
Kato, a farming community in the Berekum municipality, has been facing chieftaincy disputes since the death of the chief of the town, Nana Kwadwo Kyeremeh in 2006. Two royal gates – Minimini and Neantene – have been fighting over the rightful occupant of the stool.
The queen mother, the principal kingmaker, supported the Minimini gate and installed Osabarimah Kwabena Diawuo in May 2016 but the Neantene gate, led by Kwadwo Kyeremeh, rejected him and has since been attacking the queen mother physically.
danielyaodayee@yahoo.com
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Berekum- Kato