GA MANTSE IMPASSE RAGES

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, 13 August 2015

There seem to be no end to the protracted Ga chieftaincy dispute in spite of a caution by Minister for Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs Dr. Henry Seidu Danaa to the various factions to exercise restraint and follow due process.

The purported enstoolment of Dr. Kelvin Nii Tackie Abia Tackie with stool name Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II as the new Ga Mantse on August 2, 2015 has rekindled the debate over who is actually the rightful occupant of the stool.

The glaring interference by politicians into the whole enstoolment process as well as some of the controversial decisions taken by the Regional House of Chiefs could be interpreted as what has prolonged the selection of a new Ga Mantse that will be acceptable to all factions.

As it is, Boni Nii Tackie Adama Latse II is reportedly gazetted in the National Register of Chiefs by the National House of Chiefs as the current Ga Mantse but his position is being contested in court by other factions who believe he comes nowhere near the stool and cannot hold himself as such.

The Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs Minister said at a press conference recently that “the Ministry is therefore appealing to those who enstooled a new Ga Mantse on Sunday, August 2, to slow down so that the court process will work accordingly, considering the fact that the issue of the induction of Nii Adama Latse, whose name for the time being is in the register, is presently before court.”

In the ensuing confusion, a kingmaker from Nii Teiku Tsuru We, one of the three (some argue there is a fourth) gates, has said that the only way the whole Ga Mantse dispute will cease is first to select the rightful Dzaase (Head of the Privy Council) who has the mandate to select a Ga Mantse in consultation with all the gates.

He said the three gates: Nii Teiku Tsuru We, Amugi We and Tackie Komme We had a duty to present their respective candidates to the Dzaasetse for initiation anytime the mantle fell on any of the gates but the whole process for some years has been fraught with irregularities and that has protracted issues.

“The Ga Mantse saga can never go away without the determination of a Dzaasetse. In the absence of the Dzaasetse, the only person who can sit somebody down on the throne is the Sentse (Stool Father) who is presently Nii Tetteh Ashong V,” the kingmaker said.

He said interestingly, the various individual gates have themselves always disagreed over who should be chosen as the Ga Mantse and that has even complicated matters.

He said for instance that when Nii Amugi II from the Amugi We gate passed on as Ga Mantse and Nii Tackie Tawiah III was enstooled, some people from his own Nii Teiku Tsuru We gate which had the mandate to rule, opposed him and never recognized him until his demise.

He said it was in the ensuing confusion that Nii Adama Latse entered the scene also on the card of Nii Teiko Tsuru We and tried to fight to become Ga Mantse.

The kingmaker said that three candidates at the time including Dr. Jo Blankson (Nii Tackie Tawiah III), the young Dr. Kelvin Nii Tackie Abia Tackie who was recently enstooled with the stool name Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II and George Tackie who was also enstooled as Boni Nii Tackie Adama Latse II emerged.

According to the kingmaker, the panel chaired by Nii Dodoo Nsaki II, Otublohum Manste reportedly rejected the candidature of Nii Adama Latse II and Nii Tackie Abia Tackie.

The kingmaker further said that when Nii Tackie Tawiah III was on the throne, his kinsmen from the same gate as well as those in Tackie Komme We gate vehemently opposed his rule and tried to replace him with either Nii Adama Latse II and Nii Tackie Abia Tackie but it did not work out.

The kingmaker said ironically that E.N.A Tackie who is the father of Kelvin Nii Tackie in collaboration with Nii Adama Latse II filed as petitioners in court to challenge the enstoolment of Dr. Jo Blankson as King Tackie Tawiah III but the two have currently split heads to fight for the same stool.

“As things stand, the Ga Mantse mantle is supposed to fall on the Tackie Komme We gate if those with the belief that the Nii Teiko Tsuru We gate had their turn through Nii Tackie Tawiah III but because others claimed they did not recognize Nii Tackie Tawiah III after the death of Nii Amugi II, the Nii Teiko Tsuru We gate still want to have another shot at the stool.”

He said “interestingly, some leading characters within the Tackie Komme We gate had embroiled themselves by supporting Nii Adama Latse II who is even not from their gate and that appeared to have incapacitated Tackie Komme We gate from selecting a new Ga Mantse.”

He said “The next ruling gate is always determined at the installation of a new Ga Mantse. The mantle of Amugi We was passed on to Nii Teiko Tsuru We and this has since been passed on to the Tackie Komme We who are supposed to present a new chief strictly speaking.”

In fact, we all agree that the Dzaase should come from Amugi We. We also agree that the Dzaase should not come from the same gate of the sitting Ga Mantse.”

“Until there is a roundtable and dispassionate discussion held and accepted by all and compromises made, we will continue to be in this mess.”

“Until the truth is told, there is not going to be any peace in the chieftaincy arena in the whole Ga State,” he said.