Eugene Nyavor
The demise of Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI came with sparks of emotions from sympathizers as well as arising issues of unrest as a result of a few individuals trying to manipulate the system in a bid to change the narratives; there has been an uneasy calm in the community after the death of the chief as social media news puts it that an embattled Mankralo Nii Ako Nortei will be the acting Osu Mantse until a substantive one is installed.
Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI was known in private life as Michael Dowuona-Owoo and happened to be born on November 7, 1963, at Adabraka a suburb of Accra, the late Nii Kinka was enstooled as the Osu Mantse in 2007.
Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI as a mark of excellence was elected President of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs in 2016 and was later re-elected in 2020 after serving a successful four-year term.
On Saturday the 6th of February 2021, the entire nation was overwhelmed with the news of his passing away at the Cocoa Clinic in Accra.
In light of this development, the offices of the legitimate traditional authorities with much respect to the Osu Klottey Wolormo who is also known as Wor-Lumo Noi Boni Nuumo Noi Osekan Kpenuku, and the Osu Paramount stool- Nii Narku Teinor III have issued a communique to the office of the Inspector General Of Police (IGP) soliciting for urgent support to help forestall impending chaos.
To make heads way, the Nadu/Klortey Wulomo and the Stool father have issued a joint statement which stipulated that “it is trite knowledge that there is an “undistooled” Osu Mantse in the person of Nii Nortey Owuo III which premised a decade of litigation which had raged on until the unfortunate demise of one of the litigants so there is the need to maintain some high degree calmness to avoid turning back the hands of time which saw the Osu town in an era of litigation”, the statement reiterates.
“It is not a piece of fabricated news that the “Osu Mantse” (Chief of Osu) as known by a portion of the public has passed on. We all send our condolences to his family and all relations with all sincerity. We however It is trite knowledge that there is an under stooled Osu Mantse in the person of Nii Nortey Owuo III which premised a decade of litigation that had raged on until the demise of one of the litigants.
It is a piece of worn-a-worn-out news owing to the fact that there is an under stooled Osu Mantse in the person of Nii Nortey Owuo III which premised a decade of litigation which had raged on until the demise of one of the litigants”, the statement said.
In a stark rebuttal, however, the office of the Osu Klottey Wor-Lumor Boni Nuumo Noi Osekan Kpeneku and the Osu Paramount Stool Father- Nii Narku Teinor III has condemned the news.
In a joint press release, the two traditional leaders called on all stakeholders of Osu Tradition to remain calm and to seek peace for Osu to save the town from another protracted litigation that bedeviled Osu from the time the late Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona V ascended the Osu stool.
In a petition to the Inspector General of Police that was sighted by some media houses, the Klotey/Nadu Wulomo and the Stool Father of Osu solicited for official help avert chaos in Osu in the face of the demise of the ‘’Osu Mantse’’ Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI .
. They cited reasons for the petition as;
- A ten year historical precedence goes to confirm a long-standing dispute in the court between Nii Nortey Owuo III and Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona
- The Mankralo of Osu is faced with a destoolment charge from his gate (Osu Ashante Blohum) and as a result, his attempt to front any traditional acting position would not be countenanced by the elders of Osu Ashante Blohum quarter.
III. Non-accredited persons in the Osu with their ill motives are seeking to usurp the authority that does not lie in their purview, which may be a serious cause of impending mayhem if not averted.
- Osu has a constitution of 10th October 1910, which explicitly raises the curtain on the traditional’ ’directors ladder’ ’This constitution has been violated by obscurantists within Osu, which was the cause of long protracted litigation and disturbance of the peace in Osu.
- These obscurantists from the opposition divide who went underground during the days of earlier litigation are preparing to take advantage of the sudden demise of Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI.
The petition concluded that:
“In respect to the above mentioned, the Osu Nadu/Klottey Wulormo and the Osu Paramount Stool Father, the forebearers and custodians of Osu lore and customs seek your indulgence to assist us to forestall any orchestration of lawlessness in Osu”, the traditional authority emphasized.
By : Elliot Borketey Bortey
