Accra Honours King Tackie Tawiah I

A giant effigy of the late King Tackie Tawiah I, twentieth king of the Ga State, was unveiled at the Accra central business district near the Makola Shopping Mall yesterday in honour of his great achievements. This is the second honour to King Tackie Tawiah I. The first was in 1997 when the Kanda Flyover in Accra was named after him.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman unveiled the monument as part of the centenary celebration of the King on behalf of President John Agyekum Kufuor.

The La Mantse - Nii Kpobi Tettey Tsuru, the Head of the King Tackie Tawiah Family - Nii Akropong III, the Chief Executive of AMA - Mr. Solomon Darko and the Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs - Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey among others attended the ceremony.

King Tackie Tawiah's statue symbolises peace, stability and fairness that he stood for during his reign from 1862-1902.

It has the inscription "The Statue of the Late King Tackie Tawiah I" and is engraved with an emblem of an elephant with a deer standing on it, and a hand with a white bracelet pointing to the sky.

King Tackie Tawiah I who was a direct descendant of King Ayi Kushi, the Founder of the Ga Dynasty, was born in 1817 as Nii Quarshie Tawiah. He attended Wesley Methodist School. Prior to his enstoolment he was a Merchant Prince operating in several African countries.

Tackie Tawiah I was enstooled on 12th September 1862 and ruled for forty years. He died at the age of 85 years.