Kumasi, as is well known, is predominantly occupied by the Asantes under the rulership of the Asantehene. But the Asantes were not the first to inhabit the Kumasi lands; it was the Dormaas. They, together with the Tafo and Amekom people, possessed and held custody over the present-day Kumasi lands.
The Asantes, who migrated from the Bekwai area, particularly Amansia, begged the Dormaa people for a piece of land to settle. According to renowned lawyer and historian Anokye Frimpong, the Asantes quickly populated and took over the entire Kumasi land.
This, according to the renowned historian, degenerated and created bad blood between the Asantes and Dormaas. War broke out between the two tribes, and the Asantes were defeated; two of their chiefs, Oti Akenteng and Obiri Yeboah, died as a result.
But the Asantes, relentless as they are, identified a new chief, Osei Tutu, who previously was based in Denkyira, and travelled back to Kumasi in the company of his friend Okomfo Anokye for his enstoolment.
Osei Tutu led the Asantes to travel to Accra to meet his friend Ansa Sasraku, a powerful ruler who controlled trade routes to the coast. Osei Tutu, together with the Asantes, procured guns and strong men from Ansa Sasraku to defeat the Dormaa people.
The Asantes, after defeating the Dormaas and beheading their chiefs, drove them out while enslaving the rest on the request of Okomfo Anokye, Lawyer Anokye narrated.
This has resulted in numerous battles between the tribes over the years, including a recent spat between Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, and the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
The confirmation of this unamiable relationship between the two revered traditional rulers has been cemented over the past years from the many instances of their supposed ‘bad blood.’
Dormaahene has in recent times questioned the actions of Otumfuo Osei Tutu, especially over the announcement of a paramount chief for Fiapre.
According to the Dormaahene, Fiaprehene owes allegiance to the paramount chief of Odumase, adding that the paramount chief of Odumase exercises control over Fiapre.
Nana Agyeman Badu also vowed to resist any attempt by Otumfuo to install a chief at Fiapre and indicated his readiness to risk his life for it.
He appealed to Otumfuo Osei Tutu, stating that his actions are leading to divisions among the chiefs in the Bono Region and, therefore, he must be wary of his actions.
“The final authority in the chieftaincy rank is the paramount chief. There is no authority beyond the paramount chief. Otumfuo is a paramount chief, so he cannot lord over another paramount chief.
“So, I want to plead with the Fiaprehene that Otumfuo cannot make him a paramount chief. As long as I remain president of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, Otumfuo cannot install a paramount chief. It is not possible. Even if the court says otherwise, I will not obey, and I’m willing to go to jail for that.
“The Fiaprehene is on Bono land, so he should come to us so that we seek forgiveness from the ancestors for him. Fiapre is not under the authority of Otumfuo. It is not Otumfuo’s blood. What I know is that he is from Denkyira and ended up at Kumasi Number 1 due to wars. I cannot make him a paramount chief.
“The only person who can do that is the paramount chief of Odumase Number One. There are people staying elsewhere and causing trouble in Dormaa land. I have never disrespected Otumfuo, but he shouldn’t fight for what does not belong to him,” he said.
Nana Agyeman Badu’s claim corroborates the viewpoint of the Odumase No. 1 Traditional Council that the Fiaprehene, Obrempong Professor Kyem Amponsah II, cannot be installed as a paramount chief by the Asantehene.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, June 28, 2024, the Kontirehene of Odumase No. 1, Nana Godlove Kwaku Boateng, said that Odumase was not one of the lands conquered by the Ashanti Kingdom and, therefore, the Asantehene cannot install a paramount chief on their land.
He issued a strong warning to Fiaprehene Kyem Amponsah II, cautioning him against joining the Asanteman Council and added that the chief can leave their land if he wishes.
“He can leave for any town he wishes. He can serve anybody he wants. But he cannot take our property because he came to meet our land, which belongs to our ancestors. He should leave our land because it is for the children of Fiapre.
“I spoke to our family head, and he agreed with me that the Asantehene cannot leave Asante and install a paramount chief in Fiapre because, when he (the Fiaprehene) needed land to settle on, it was his (the family head’s) father who gave him the land. And so no one can live on his father’s land and serve another person,” he said in Twi.
He added, “You (Fiaprehene) are saying you are your own man and you can do what you want. But our land does not belong to the Asantehene. Odumase is not one of the lands conquered by the Asante.”