Fierce clashes at Manhyia Palace

……..Youth of Agogo versus macho men

Violence broke out Thursday at the Manhyia Palace as irate youth of Atwima Agogo who sought to destool the chief of the town, Nana Okyere Darko Poku, engaged in a bloody clash with his supporters at the forecourt of the palace.

The factions had been invited by the Asantehene, Otumfuor Osei Tutu II to the palace to settle a chieftaincy dispute between them. Opponents of Nana Okyere Darko Poku accuse the chief of masterminding the death of two people in the town recently which occurred under mysterious circumstances. Eight people sustained injuries and were immediately rushed to the Manhyia Hospital for treatment, where four of them, in critical conditions, were referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

The violence broke out when opponents of Nana Okyere Darko Poku who were waiting at the forecourt of the palace rushed on him when they received news that he had arrived.

But in their attempt to pounce on the chief, his supporters, including ‘macho men’, clashed with them, resulting in the spilling of blood on the soil of the palace.

The macho men, who were escorting the chief to the palace sensed danger upon seeing the large number of the chief’s opponents rushing on them, shielded him to safety and called for “re-enforcement”.

In a matter of minutes, a number of macho men, on motorbikes and wielding machetes and other offensive weapons, stormed the palace and started brutalizing the mob, including innocent people who had gone to witness proceedings of the day.

The clashes occurred just before the Asantehene and his subjects began proceedings at the palace and nearly stalled proceedings but police were called in to restore calm and order.

So far, four people have been arrested, including Nana Okyere Darko Poku, and are helping the police in investigations.