The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has destooled Nana Adutwumwaa Bonin II – the Queen of Denyase Traditional Council in the Ashanti region.
This move comes following allegations that the Queen Mother had violated the sacred great oath of the Ashanti kingdom through treacherous invocation. The ruling was handed down during a meeting of the Asanteman Council on October 14.
“In safeguarding the Golden Stool and the great oath entrusted to me, I must ensure fidelity to our traditions,” the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II declared in his ruling adding:
“As the elders have said that we don’t invoke the great oath in vain, when I became the Asantehene I was told I did not have a mother, a brother, or anybody, and the only thing I have is the Golden Stool and the Great Oath to protect.”
He further stated: “I really like the Queen…I call her my old lady, but going against the great oath, I have to go by what the tradition says. If I forgive her, then who should I punish if the person does the same? We have to tell the truth to people. She is at fault; she is a family member. If she doesn’t have the money, she can come, and I will give her money, but to violate the great oath, no, she can’t sit on the throne anymore.”
During the proceedings, Nana Adutwumwaa Bonin II appealed for clemency. However, the majority of the council members opposed her plea.
“Nana, we cannot forgive her because the great oath must be paramount in all our dealings, so violating the terms of the oath is unacceptable,” one of the chiefs said.
Adding his voice on the matter, the Goasomanhene opined: “My biggest fear here is the oath that is involved, so pleading on her behalf will be difficult because the sacred oath is involved.”
“Otumfuo linguist, all the chiefs have said that they cannot work with her, so she must go,” another affirmed.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II emphasized the sanctity of the great oath and the imperative to uphold Asante customs without exception.
The controversy surrounding Nana Adutwumwaa Bonin II’s royal lineage came to a head after a committee was set up to investigate her royalty status after she was challenged by Achiasebaapanin Nana Akua Afriyie, who invoked the Great Oath in support of her stance.
Nana Akua Afriyie’s accusation of challenging the royalty of Nana Adutwumwaa Bonin II was rebutted by her in a counter-invocation of the Great Oath.
Whereas Nana Afriyie denied having any blood relations with Denyasehemaa, the latter said otherwise. The parties were therefore charged to make available their traditional family trees for review by the committee.
Upon further checks, the committee found out that Denyasehemaa was indeed not a royal and not related to Achiase.
After the committee presented the report to Otumfuo, he noted that Denyasehemaa could have saved herself by avoiding a counter-invocation.
“Denyasehemaa could have used peace to her advantage, but she chose quite the opposite. And since the investigation has brought this to light, I have no choice but to put the stool where it truly belongs.”
Denyasehemaa was therefore fined four rams for the counter-invocation of the Great Oath in vain during the committee’s sitting.