Traffic on the streets of Kumasi
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES in the Ashanti Regional capital of Kumasi were in full swing on Friday and Saturday after last Thursday’s lockdown.
The boisterous city was virtually turned into a ghost town on Thursday, following an order from the Manhyia Palace for suspension of business activities.
The strict order was in honour of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Ama Konadu Yiadom III, whose burial service was being held at the Manhyia Palace on the day.
Banks, shops and schools in the city were all closed in honour of the deceased queen, because residents of Kumasi respect the authority of the Manhyia Palace.
Some of the people, who spoke to the DAILY GUIDE on Thursday morning, said Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s word is a law for them, hence closing their shops.
“Otumfuo is called ‘Nyamekesee’, which literally means the ‘biggest of all the gods’, so we do whatever he commands us to do,” Prince Kumi, aka ‘Maxi’, disclosed.
According to Maxi, he is a car dealer, but like other businesses in the city, he closed his garage on Thursday to be at the Manhyia Palace to bade goodbye to the late queen.
But when the lockdown was lifted on Friday morning, Kumasi instantly returned back to life, as shops, markets, banks and offices in the city were all opened.
The usual vehicular traffic on the major streets, especially roads that lead to Adum, the Central Business District (CBD), were back on Friday and Saturday.
When the paper visited the city on Friday afternoon, traders were making brisk business. The usual human traffic at Kejetia Market was also visible.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi