King Kaku Aka III
The Paramount Chief of Awiaso Traditional Area, King Kaku Aka III, has endorsed President John Dramani Mahama’s call for reparatory justice from Britain for its role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
In a statement signed by his spokesperson Egya Annor Kwasi, King Kaku Aka III said the effects of the slave trade demand “proper restitution” as it contributed to Africa becoming “a backward continent.”
President Mahama is currently leading a global push for reparatory justice as the African Union’s advocate for reparative justice. The President’s advocacy frames reparations beyond financial compensation, describing it as a pursuit of truth, dignity, and the restoration of African historical memory.
King Kaku Aka III said the President’s position is “in the right direction” and would serve as “another landmark to atone for the sins of Europe against Africa.”
He argued that the forced removal of Africa’s active workforce as slaves to Europe and the New World, with the involvement of some chiefs, led to a breakdown in the continent’s moral, spiritual, and economic strength.
The traditional ruler praised his predecessors, Awulae Annor Blay and King Kaku Aka I, founders of the Nzema Kotoko Kingdom, for resisting colonial rule. He noted that King Kaku Aka I refused to sign the Bond of 1844, which he described as a blueprint for the slave trade and British colonial administration.
He said the colonial administration distorted Ghana’s historical and monarchical records, arguing that British colonialists “lacked the moral right to install Paramount Chiefs in the Nzema traditional areas” after the capture and execution of his forebear.
According to him, caretakers of the Nzema Kingdom “blindly” followed colonial orders “to the detriment of history, culture and tradition” by ascending thrones they did not belong to “just for the sake of greed.”
“If the reparation from slavery Ghana and the rest of Africa seek to demand from the colonial masters in recent times is anything to go by, then King Kaku Aka I who refused to sign the Bond of 1844 and opposed servitude and bondage of his people, committed no crime and his office must be reinstated,” the statement said.
King Kaku Aka I founded the Nzema Kotoko Kingdom and became the first Overlord of Nzemaland, earning the title “The Great Nzema King” in history texts authored by former Tema Secondary School headmaster F.K. Buah.
The current Paramount Chief, King Kaku Aka III, stated that “under no circumstances could a political administration forcibly enstool an alien chief who had no allodial right to ascend any throne of a family he did not belong”. He added that neither the National nor Regional House of Chiefs has the mandate to install chiefs under the constitution, as they are not part of the royal family’s kingmakers.
He blamed most current chieftaincy disputes on colonial rulers, saying they usurped the powers of traditional rulers who held the divine right of kingship and replaced them with individuals who were not rightful heirs.
While noting that breaches of monarchical absolutism occurred in the West following the English Civil Wars and the French and American revolutions, King Kaku Aka III said sovereign nations must maintain their original history, culture, and traditions “to avoid the wrath of posterity.”
He claimed history has been distorted because people have “stolen” stools that did not belong to them and have no interest in historical records. “To this end, most of our history books which taught our children to reconstruct the past to understand the present and pave the way for the future, have been removed from the school curriculum and library shelves,” he said.
King Kaku Aka III appealed to the National House of Chiefs to review historical archives to determine who has the legitimate and divine right to be gazetted as Overlord of Nzemaland, in order to end long-standing disputes and litigation over land and succession.
A Daily Guide Report