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Press Releases of Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Source: Nii Dodoo Nsaki

Press Release By Ga Traditional Council

On The Rape Of The Ga Stool House

11th June, 2011.

On Friday the 10th of June 2011, the Ga Traditional Authority experienced a foul aberration of their divisional and paramount leadership. Quite unexpectedly, the Ga’s were informed by gun-fires and rather violent activity, that a new paramount chief was about to be installed even though all were aware that there was already a paramount chief in place.

There had been a fore-warning though, from Thomas Okine, a self-styled Gbese Mantse, without authority or any traditional grounding, that he would enstool a Ga Mantse for the people of the Ga State between his pronouncement and August. The dispatch with which the Ga’s woke up to the announcement of installation of a new Ga Mantse was rather unusual to people who usually followed their traditions with some preference.

Tommy Okine has claimed extraordinary power even though he had not been legitimately installed Gbese Mantse and had several qualificational deficiencies against him particularly, a number of contempt charges in the courts. Additionally, nowhere in the cultural make-up of the Ga’s is it permissible for a Gbese Mantse to install a Ga Mantse even with the bravado of doing it single handedly. As the experience enfolded, it was clear that the installation of a new Ga Mantse was orchestrated by some elements in government.

It was rumoured with emphatic frankness that the entire procedure was orchestrated at the seat of government in Osu. Some rumoured names included Col. Rtd. Dennis Kpani Riberio-Addy of Makola bombing fame, Flt. Lt. Tackie, Col. Rtd. Gbevlo Lartey, the National Security Co-ordinator, Jonathan Tackie Commey, the MP for Odododiodoo, and the Regional Police Commander, Rose Bio Atinga, who assured that those people were going to be removed from the Ga Stool House because a Ga Mantse was in place. However it became clear that they were left alone to do what they did without supervisory command.

The Ga Mantse King Tackie Tawiah III has always insisted that there must be peace in the Ga State which is why we took the right course by reporting to the police. As events unfolded it became clearer that the said Thomas Okine was not acting alone. He had some support from self styled Sempe Mantse in the name of Otinto, Nii Amarkai II and the Sakumo Wulomo Nuumo Ogbame. Some of these supporters have actively involved themselves in the installation of Ayitey Canada as Ga Mantse. An Acting Djaasetse by name Yaotey Otoga and representative of Nae-We by name Nuumo Tumomli Yaotey, and two others were Korley Sudan, brother of the IGP, and Nuumo Gbelenfo, a wulomo of no good repute. This set of people has been known to engage themselves negatively in all traditional activities of the Ga State.

People in authority of tradition may affirm that some of them have been disappointed by not gaining the positions of trust that would give them some prestige. The main actor in the event was of course is George Tackie, who five years ago presented himself as a candidate for consideration as Ga Mantse from Teiko Tsuru We. It is worth noting, that this man could not present himself for vetting, but has since been confined by various interested ritual actors.
It thus came with good relation and self satisfaction for good old George to be assisted in becoming “Ga Mantse” with dubious legitimacy aided by enormous political influence and power.

The challenge ahead for him is how he could sustain his position, bearing in mind that:

1. there is already a Ga Mantse in place, that is King Tackie Tawiah III
2. that George Tackie is a party to legal action against the Ga Mantse at the Regional House of Chiefs, thus making his present activities in contempt of the judgement of the Judicial Committee of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs at Dodowa.
3. the individuals who installed him cannot be said to have any legitimacy or capacity to assume the places in which they are.
Therefore the political influence can be deemed to have weighed on events of the last four days.

Nii Dodoo Nsaki
Otublohum Mantse
Ag. President, Ga Traditional Council.