Police harassment of Kumawu and Bodomase dwellers continues

By Rockson Adofo

Is there anyone out there that can help to stop these injurious intimidations, harassments and infliction of brutalities on innocent citizens of Kumawu and Bodomase in the Ashanti region by the nationâl police and the military?


Following from the much publicised police-cum-military assaults on Kumawuhene Barima Tweneboa Kodua V and his elders and the people of Kumawu-Bodomase at the funeral of the late Kumawu Akyempemhene Nana Okyere Krapa II, on Thursday, 16 February 2017, the police have still been frequenting Kumawu and Bodomase to beat and arrest people.


In the early hours of Monday, 6 March 2017 at around 2 O’clock in the morning, some police personnel visited the home of the late Opayin Yaw Marfo at the Old Concert house to assault Kofi Boamah, Kobo, Sarkodie and a certain northerner who had barely two days ago arrived from the north to look for a job as a farm help (labourer).


Kofi Boamah is unhealthy hence disabled, yet the police beat him, slapping him in the face and using their boots to kick him at the knees until he started bleeding. They handcuffed him along with the others. His daughter who had given birth only three weeks ago to the day of his unlawful arrest, having gone through a very serious surgical operation, was forced out of her room into the open compound of the house with her three-week old baby in her arms.


It took much pleading from the people before the police would let the mother go into her room with the child after spending time in the early hours (dawn) cold but not after maltreating her.


When these police from outside Kumawu conducting the illegal dawn raids on homes to assault and arrest people whose names have been listed and given to them by Kumawuhemaa Nana Abenaa Serwaah Amponsah, took the handcuffed persons as mentioned above to their police car parked outside the house in the street, the arrested persons saw two boys/men from Kumawu Palace sitting in the car. These boys/men are among those who have been escorting the police around people’s homes to have them arrested because Kumawuhemaa (queen) and the alleged paramount chief of Kumawu, Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, see them as not part of the few people that support them but would rather have had them in their camp.


The palace boys/men were Kwame Aboagye from the Kyidomhene’s house but lives at the Kumawu palace and Kwame Johnson popularly called Obeng whose father is from Kumawu Pepease, and is the son of the late Madam Yaa Konadu.


When they saw the handcuffed persons, they told the police, no, these people are not those that we are looking for. Subsequently, the police released them but not after again slapping them when they insisted, did we not tell you that we had done nothing wrong and know not the reason why you have come to arrest and beaten us up.

Lest I forget, one guy nicknamed Burger has his girlfriend living in the house where Kofi Boamah and others were arrested. From reliable sources, it was Burger that the Palace boys/men would have had the police arrested.


When Kofi Boamah needed medical treatment following the injuries and bodily pains he sustained owing to the police assault on him as stated above, the Kumawu Police Station refused him a medical form to take to hospital. Their excuse was that they had run out of those medical forms. Could it not be intentional on the part of the Kumawu police to deny him the form to prevent him from having a medical report to substantiate the needless and criminally-intended police assault on his person?


The police personnel who have been descending on Kumawu and Bodomase to conduct the dawn raids on people’s homes intending to assault and arrest persons whose names have been passed to them by Kumawuhemaa Nana Abenaa Serwaah Amponsah had on Friday, 10 March 2017, arrested a pub (bar) owner at Kumawu-Bodomase. He is the person of Mr Kofi Acheampong. According to the police, they suspected of someone shooting at them from the pub on Thursday, 16 March 2017 when they, the police, were firing live ammunition and rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd of mourners following Kumawuhene Barima Tweneboa Kodua V and his sub-chiefs to the funeral ground to pay their last respect to their deceased colleague, Kumawu Akyempemhene Nana Okyere Krapa II prior to his burial late that day, suffered gunshot wounds of possible friendly fire.


From evidence on YouTube, it was rather the police that possessed guns and were shooting at Barima Tweneboa Kodua V and his retinue of mourners. They destroyed his kingly umbrellas and that of Kumawu Akwamuhene.


Check the following YouTube video links to ascertain the veracity of my claim.

Additionally, the police who have been going to Kumawu-Bodomase to perpetrate such heinous acts of criminalities against the people since Thursday, 16 March 2017 are said to proceed to Kumawu Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School to feed from the same meals given to the students. Who has allowed that and who pays for it. I shall at the opportune time put out a publication to question the headmaster of the school. The students should not pay for the meals enjoyed by these criminal police men and soldiers who are under instructions to take sides in the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute to suppress and oppress Barima Tweneboa Kodua V and his supporters that form about 95% of the Kumawuman population.


At writing, Kofi Acheampong and others are lingering in police cells in Kumasi waiting to be arraigned before a judge although they have committed no proven crime, just that Kumawuhemaa with the support of some government ministers want to intimidate them through threats and unjustified arrests.


From the queen’s camp, the information has started trickling out into the public domain that she is fully backed and supported by some NPP Government Ministers to have Barima Tweneboa Kodua V, and his sub-chiefs namely Nana Kwasi Bafo II (Kumawu Akwamuhene), Nana Sarfo Agyekum II (Kumawu Aduanahene) whose name I got it wrong in my other publications and Nana Okyere Darko (Kumawu Nsumankwaahene) arrested, prosecuted and have them bonded to no longer conduct themselves in public as chiefs.


If these are the motives behind the persistent harassments and assaults on them with their arrest, I am afraid those Government Ministers have goofed big time. We did not vote for NPP and Nana Akufo Addo to come to continue or emulate the injustices that were in daily perpetration and perpetuation by the NDC and President Mahama. That was not the change for the better that we invested our money, energy and time into to campaign to bring about.


I am going to conduct my own secret investigations and should I confirm the veracity of the allegation coming from Kumawuhemaa’s camp that she is fully backed by the Government Ministers, I shall name them and tell exactly what they are doing and why they are doing that.


We shall not allow our human rights to be violated by a known NDC stalwart (Kumawuhemaa) who is now behaving like an NPP member because of her contacts with these NPP Government Ministers.


Why are the NPP government silent over the ongoing police-cum-military assaults on the citizens of Kumawu and Kumawu-Bodomase if they were secretly not in agreement with the queen’s resolute determination to deny the true royals their birth-right heritage?


Sadly, it is being rumoured that there is a plot to have Kumawu Akwamuhene Nana Kwasi Bafo II killed so that Dr Yaw Sarfo (the alleged Kumawuhene Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua) and his accomplices could in future claim that the fake signature on his Chieftaincy Declaration (DC) Forms 1A and 1B was signed by Nana Kwasi Bafo II. He must be a joke if that is their intention.


As I write, Kumawu Aduanahene Nana Sarfo Agyekum II and Kumawu Akwamuhene Nana Kwasi Bafo II are still hiding in the forest somewhere in Ghana where they cannot even be reached on phone for their safety. Why should this happen under the government of President Nana Akufo Addo that we all knew to be a liberator hence often addressing him as Joseph, Moses or David of modern times?


I cannot comprehend what is going on in the present day Ghana. However, I shall conduct my own further investigations and make my findings known to the public. After the election, I see myself as a Ghanaian but not a diehard NPP member. I believe in Ghana first and in the welfare of all Ghanaians irrespective of their status hence will never take it kindly to the ongoing absurdly arranged police-cum-military brutalities on the people of Kumawu and Kumawu-Bodomase.


I shall copy into this publication the Amnesty International and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. I want them to know how some innocent citizens are being persecuted without the government taking steps to guarantee their rights but are probably instigating it since police and military personnel are doing it.