Police have taken over the Adoagyiri community in the Nsawam/Adoagyiri Municipality of the Eastern Region, following the death of two persons, with several others sustaining gunshot injuries in a chieftaincy dispute-related gun attacks.
Police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) since Monday stormed the community to search for the killers behind the shooting incident.
The incident occurred after gun-wielding men and the Okyeman Land Protection Taskforce, escorting a convoy of rival chiefs enstooled recently by Akyem Abuakwa traditional council and sworn in last Tuesday at Kyebi, stormed the Adoagyiri community amid sporadic gunshots, leading to the death from a rival faction.
In that process, one member of the Okyeman task force was mistakenly gunned down, as two others sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to the Nsawam Government Hospital by police.
One of the deceased, identified as Kwame Apietu, 50 years old, who returned from the USA a few weeks ago to attend the funeral of his late sister was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
The situation is creating fear and panic among the residents as some have been reportedly fled since last night, due to the heavy presence of the Police officers deployed to the community.
The ugly incident started last week and escalated after some angry sub-chiefs issued a warning to the Akyem Abuakwa traditional council to put a stop to plans of outdooring of a rival chief clandestinely and illegally enstooled.
How It Happened
One Odehye Kwame Ntiamoah from the Dwumana royal family of Adoagyiri was installed as rival Chief of Adoagyiri with the stool name Barima Adu Korkor ll under heavily armed police protection.
The installation of the rival chief provoked the anger of the Adoagyiri sub-chiefs and elders, who held a press conference saying that Adoagyiri has a legitimately gazetted chief for the past 15years in the person of Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II, therefore, the enstoolment of the parallel chief was illegal with a potential threat to the peace of the town.
The angry chiefs clad in red and black apparel amid the chanting of war songs, explained that Adoagyiri has never been part of the Akyem Abuakwa traditional area but rather under Akyem Kotoku.
They claimed that the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, and the Akyem Abuakwa traditional council have no legal and traditional rights to invade the community with the tacit support of the state to enstool a chief.
The spokesman for the chiefs, Odehye Kronkron Nana Kwabena Agyemang, said several petitions have been sent to the Presidency, Ghana Police Service, and National Security about the intention of Okyenhene to invade Adoagyiri to illegally enstool a chief as part of the broader plan to annex it as part of Akyem Abuakwa were ignored, leaving them no option but to defend their land and tradition going forward.
They indicated that Nana Adu Korkor II was installed chief at Adoagyiri and sent to Akyem Kotoku to pay allegiance to the then acting President of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council, Nana Abrokwa Gyampim I (Kontihene of Akyem Kotoku), in 1953 in the absence of the Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area.
-BY Daniel Bampoe