How the Ga chiefs stopped an Ashanti chief from riding in a palanquin to Jospong's father's funeral.
Drama unfolded at State House in Accra during the funeral rites of Dr. Joseph Siaw-Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group, as Ga and Ashanti chiefs clashed.
An Ablade TV video obtained by GhanaWeb showed the commotion as the chiefs of the two tribes argued bitterly over the Ashanti chiefs' insistence on riding in a palanquin to the funeral grounds, as ordered by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
The Ga chiefs, who were representing the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, said they would not allow Otumfuo's representative to ride in the palanquin because it represents that the Akan chiefs are the rulers of the Ga land, and ordered that the entrance to the funeral grounds be blocked.
Dr. Joseph Siaw-Agyepong was seen attempting to persuade the Ga chiefs, but they remained steadfast.
The Akan chief riding the palanquin also refused to walk to the funeral grounds and instead left them while performing various dance moves on his palanquin.
Nii Ansah Sasraku I, Chief of Onyansana in the Greater Accra Region, one of the Ga Chiefs, stated that they would not allow the Ashanti chiefs to ride the palanquin because it signified that they were lords over them.
"The Ga Mantse dispatched us here to represent him, and we arrived to witness a very concerning incident." We saw an Ashanti chief being carried on Ga land and told him he couldn't enter the grounds until he got out of the palanquin and walked.
That is what we are arguing about here because the Ga land belongs to Gas and we cannot go to their town and be riding on palanquins to a funeral they will not allow that to happen. So, were not moving until he steps out of the palanquin. We hear they are from Kumasi, he said in Ga.
Also, the Asafoatse for the Ga Traditional Council, Captain Nii Kojo Mankata, who spoke to Ablade TV on the incident, said that it happened as they were leaving the premise of the burial ground to attend to another urgent matter.
"As we were leaving the funeral grounds, we noticed a chief being carried on the Ga land." We asked why someone would be riding a palanquin at a funeral and urged the chief sitting on it to step down and speak with us before leaving the State House. But he sent his people to tell us that he will not resign. We also decided not to allow him to pass through.
"When Jospong heard about the incident, he came to us. We explained that it was a funeral and that none of the other chiefs from the country had arrived with a palanquin, so why was the Ashanti chief insisting on riding on it? It demonstrates his contempt for the Ga Chiefs and other chiefs who attended the funeral," he said in Ga.
He went on to say that the Ashanti Chief refused to resign and eventually decided to leave the State House in his palanquin.
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