The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, says the Chief of Coaltar, Barima Asiedu Okekrebesi II, has not been destooled, contrary to media reports.
According to the Okyenhene, the Coaltar chief has rather been asked to step aside for an investigation into his alleged involvement in the killing of some protesters in his area.
He is also alleged to be using certain persons to terrorize citizens and wantonly seizing and selling lands occupied by natives of Coaltar without due process.
In a statement issued by the Akyem Abuakwa State Secretary, Mr. D. M. Ofori-Atta, the Okyenhene has directed the Kyebi Regional Police Command to expedite action on the investigation to ensure the swift trial of the perpetrators.
Osagyefuo also urged calm and called on the people of Kraboa and Coaltar to remain law-abiding.
On Thursday, January 16, 2025, two people lost their lives, and several others sustained near-fatal injuries when thugs accompanying the Coaltar Chief, Barima Asiedu Okekrebesi II, opened fire on the people of the Kraboa community.
The community members were embarking on a peaceful protest against the unlawful sale and seizure of their lands and the destruction of their crops by sand miners acting on the chief’s instructions.
The incident took place in broad daylight in the presence of the Ayensuano District Police. One of the deceased bodies was later retrieved from the palace of the Coaltar Chief, who has since fled the town and has been placed on the police wanted list.
It took the intervention of the Kyebi Regional Police Command, under the direction of the Okyenhene, to restore order in the area.
This incident follows a similar one on January 5, 2025, when agents of the Coaltar Chief unlawfully entered the palace of the Odikro of Alema, a farming community in the Ayensuano District, and brutally assaulted occupants of the palace without provocation.
On Friday, January 17, 2025, a customary ritual was conducted by the Akyem Apapamhene, Osabarima Okogyeaman Apagya Fori, to destool Barima Asiedu Okekrebesi II under the impression that the Okyenhene had instructed him to do so.
However, the Okyenhene has clarified that Barima Asiedu Okekrebesi II cannot be considered destooled based on the rituals conducted last Friday at Coaltar by Apapamhene Osabarima Okogyeaman Apagya Fori.
ALSO READ: