April 14, 2010 Sunyani (B/A) April 14, GNA - Mr. Raphael Cubagye, Assemblyman for Abonsua electoral area in the Sunyani Municipality on Wednesday rendered an apology through the Brong-Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs and pleaded to the Sunyani Traditional Council (STC) for clemency.

Barely a few months ago, a "verbal brawl" erupted between the assemblyman and the STC with Mr. Cubagye alleging that the council had connived with the Sunyani Municipal Assembly and sold some parcels of land reserved for community facilities to individual estate developers.

The allegation did not go down well with the STC and after several meetings, the council ordered Mr. Cubagye to pay a fine of 24 rams and quantities of bottles of schnapps which he (Cubagye) refused to oblige.

The STC however instituted some sanctions against the assemblyman among which Mr. Cubagye was banned from attending public gatherings within the Sunyani traditional area.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered that since the sanctions were imposed on the assemblyman who is also a farmer, some unidentified young men in Sunyani had been harassing him with the latest being that last Saturday he was attacked by some group at a funeral grounds without any apparent reason.

Two weeks before the recent attack, some young men also allegedly broke into the assemblyman's pig farm and fled the animals.

At the first general meeting of the house in Sunyani, the visibly calm reserved Mr. Cubagye, together and his mother who were on their knees, told the chiefs that: "I am very sorry for being rude to the STC and pleading through the house to intervene as I render my sincerest apology to the council".

Touched by his plea, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, Omanhene of Dormaa, appealed to the house as a matter of urgency to institute a committee to send the apology to the STC for a lasting solution to the matter.

"I have heard your name and all the good works you have done in Sunyani on radio but I have not seen you personally", he remarked and appealed to the STC to accept the apology.

Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi II, President of the House, assured the assemblyman that the house would delegate some members to discuss the matter with the STC and would later communicate the feedback to him.

GNA