The Paramount of Sefwi Chirano Traditional Area, Okogyeman Kwaku Gyamprah II, says he has been devastated by recent killings in Sefwi communities, pointing out that this has the “tendency to sink the already wobbly image of the people of Sefwi enclaves further in abyss.”
Okogyeman Gyamprah’s remarks come after several homicides, including the brutal murders of a 20-year-old woman at Sefwi Bosomoiso and a 30-year-old woman at Sefwi Bekwai.
In a statement released on Monday, the Sefwi Chirano paramount chief, who doubles as the Vice President of the Western North Regional House of Chiefs, said, “I have been devastated by this ill-development as the traditional ruler of my area, and hereby extend my condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased.”
“I, therefore, condemn this act and unequivocally state that under no circumstance should any human being lose his or her life in such a circumstance,” he asserted.
The traditional ruler appealed to the security agencies to do the best to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to book.
“As one of the traditional leaders in the Sefwi area, I warn all and sundry engaged in such inhumane and dastardly acts to desist from engaging in same, as it has the tendency of sinking the already wobbly image of the people of Sefwi enclaves further in abyss,” Okogyeman Gyamprah II indicated.
“Let me put on record, rather forcefully, that such dastardly acts shall not be countenanced in the Sefwi areas anymore,” he stressed.
“Together with my colleagues, the paramount chiefs, divisional chiefs, odikros, linguists, elders and the youth in the Sefwi traditional areas, and with the help of the security forces, we shall fish out the few bad nuts in our midst wanting to sink the image of the folks of Sefwi enclaves, and the laws of our land shall deal with them accordingly,” he pledged solemnly.
The paramount chief assured the public that they shall do everything humanly possible to avert “such negative and ugly occurrences in the future,” intimating, “Our traditional areas cannot be revisited with such horrendous crimes again. Enough of the ills we have had regarding these human killings in the past.”
“Indeed, human lives are invaluable and priceless and nothing can be equated to the same, for which reason we shall form a unified front to fight this canker. No one should die under such circumstances again in Sefwi areas or any part of Ghana and the world as a whole,” he posited.
He stated that the centre of God’s creation has always been humans, and “without them, I doubt whether God’s purpose for creation would have been met in perfection.”
The chief stated that the protection of human lives is guaranteed and no man has the right to take another man’s life, even with the fairest of justifications or excuses.
“However, the dastardly act of men killing their fellow men motivated by whatever reason is seemingly unabated and has been with us since creation.
“In times past, the towns and villages of Sefwi Wiawso, Sefwi Anhiwaso, Sefwi Chirano and especially Sefwi Bekwai and its environs have been in the news for all the bad reasons.
“The bad press Sefwi towns and villages attracted disturbed the peace and image of the indigenes of Sefwi enclaves, which I belong as the Paramount Chief of Sefwi Chirano Traditional Area,” he recalled.
He said in the 1980s, Sefwi enclaves gained notoriety for human killings or sacrifices, making the area a lion’s den to live. Indeed, one always dreaded living in Sefwi and its environs for either business or tourism.
“This ubiquitous fear existed among everyone in Ghana, and those who suffered the most were Sefwi folks. A phenomenon that made the natives of Sefwi enclaves gain all the negative connotations, as they were constantly tagged and perceived as evil people.
“Whichever way one examines this ill situation, it becomes overly difficult to disassociate some Sefwi folks whilst accusing others of these heinous acts. For as the saying goes ‘one bad nut spoils the whole soup’,” he indicated.
By Ernest Kofi Adu