Otumfuo to break silence on Agogo, Tafo soon

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will not publicly speak about the recent troubles at Tafo and Asante Akim Agogo in the coming days after he returned from a private visit to South Africa on Tuesday,. As the rich tradition of the Asante demands, Otumfuo will have to be officially briefed about the Tafo and Asante Akim Agogo issues which occurred in his absence during a durbar of chiefs. It is after Otumfuo has been thoroughly briefed by the chiefs that he (Otumfuo), who is the overlord of Asanteman, can talk publicly about the two sensitive and security-related issues. A credible source at the Manhyia Palace, the official seat of the Asante Monarch, has hinted that it is not likely that the Asantehene will be briefed by the Asante chiefs in the coming days.

 Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said Otumfuo would be seriously engaged next week as it was likely that the late Bantamahene, Baffuor Asare Owusu Amankwatia, would be buried next week. He said after the Bantamahene’s burial, which is likely to happen next week Thursday, the Asantehene would also sit in state for people from all walks of life to pay homage to him during the Akwasidae festival on Sunday.

According to him, it is likely that Otumfuo would sit in state at the Manhyia Palace for the chiefs to brief him about the Tafo and Agogo issues the week after the burial of the Bantamahene. . The Asantehene is so powerful that words from his mouth are considered sacred by people living in Asanteman. It is therefore believed that total calm and peace will be restored to the trouble spots in Asanteman such as Tafo and Asante Akim Agogo once the Asantehene breaks his silence on both issues.

Hundreds of concerned Asantes drawn from Tafo and Asante Akim Agogo stormed the Kumasi Airport in colossal numbers on Tuesday evening to welcome Otumfuo from his trip to South Africa. The people wore mourning clothes and held placards with inscriptions that suggested that Asantehene was the only person whose intervention would help bring lasting peace to Tafo and Agogo. Some of the inscriptions were about Fulani herdsmen’s maltreatment of residents of Asante Akim Agogo and the rowdy acts which occurred at Tafo. Others appealed to Otumfuo to help arrest the situation.