Anyone else seeking to register as Sampahene is a fraudster – Nana Gyafla writes to National House of Chiefs

Lawyers for Nana Samgba Gyafla II have written to the National House of Chiefs to treat as fraudulent any chieftaincy declaration form that seeks to validate an individual apart from him as the Chief of Sampa in the Bono Region.

According to the Appeal Court judge privately known as Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, he has in accordance with tradition and custom sworn an oath of allegiance to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II following his enstoolment as Sampahene.

In a letter written to the National House of Chiefs by his lawyers, Nana Gyafla II noted that despite his fulfilment of an obligatory oath of allegiance to the Asantehene, another individual parading as Sampahene has written to the House seeking a validation of his status.

“We act as Solicitors for NANA SAMGBA GYAFLA II Omanhene of Sampa Traditional Area (Hereinafter referred to as "Our Client"] and on whose instructions we write you this letter. Our client has informed us that upon his enstoolment as the Paramount Chief of Sampa he swore the Oath of Allegiance to the Asantehene Otumfour Osei Tutu Il at Manhyia Palace on 18/12/2023.

“The Paramount stool of Sampa is under the Asanteman Council since it is the Asantehene who clevated the stool to a paramount status. Any paramount chief/Omanhene of Sampa is under Obligation to appear before Otumfour the Asantehene to swear the Oath of Allegiance in order to validate his position as a paramount chief. Our client informs us that it is alleged that somebody apart from him has submitted chieftaincy declaration forms to the National House of Chiefs seeking to enter his name in the National Register of Chiefs without any authorization from the Sampa Traditional Council,” the letter addressed to the National House of Chiefs by lawyers at Adom Legal Consult read.

The lawyers, urged the National House of Chiefs to disregard any such application seeking to validate a different individual as Sampahene.

According to the lawyers, Registrar at the Sampa Traditional Council who doubles as the Acting President has not signed or submitted any such application.



“We are instructed to inform the National House of Chiefs that any forms submitted to the National House of Chiefs by anybody besides our client, to enter his name into the National Register of Chiefs is a fraudster and any such forms are forged.

“Our further instructions hold that we appeal to the National House of Chiefs to disregard any chieftaincy declaration form submitted by any imposter.

“The Registrar of Sampa Traditional Council and the Acting President of the Sampa Traditional Council have neither submitted nor signed respectively, any Chieftaincy Declaration form to the Bono Regional House of Chiefs for transmission to the National House of Chiefs. So if any forms find their way into the National House of Chiefs for consideration then those forms are forged,” the letter.

Accompanied with the letter to the National House of Chiefs is a search result at the House which reveals that a declaration form signed by one Nana Kwasi Sei was submitted to the National House of Chiefs on December 19, 2023.

According to the search result, the form nominated one Nana Sammor-Duah II as Paramount Chief of Sampa but has been returned to the Bono Regional House of Chiefs for being invalid.

The search for a new Sampahene following the death of the previous chief has resulted in a chieftaincy litigation which has seen tension rising in the Sampa area.

In 2015, Nana Yaw Sammor-Duah was installed by a faction as Omanhene of Sampa.

However, the recent enstoolment of Nana Samgba Gyafla II as new Sampahene has brought a new dimension to the already tensed situation.

Last month, a clash between some factions in the Sampa chieftaincy litigation led to the death of one individual while others suffered various injuries.





GA/SARA

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