More than 50 armed policemen were deployed to Suhyen in the New Juaben Municipality of the Eastern Region on Friday to prevent the Omanhene of the area, Daasebre Oti Boateng, from performing a ritual at Suhyen, as a prelude to the celebration of Akwantukese, the festival for the people of the area, to forestall peace in the town.

The Regional Security Council (REGSEC), headed by the regional minister, Victor Smith, issued the fiat for Daasebre Oti Boateng not to go ahead to perform the traditional rite in the Suhyen river, which is normally done to signify the start of the Akwantukese festival, as a result of chieftaincy stand-off between the Omanhene and Suhyenhene, Okogyeman Ankomah Basapon.

Suhyenhene, who is also the Mponuehene of the New Juaben Traditional Council, had warned of a bloodbath, in a press conference on Wednesday, if Daasebre Oti Boateng and his followers dared to step on the soil of Suhyen to perform that mandatory rite for the start of the Akwantukese and therefore called on the REGSEC to advise the Omanhene.

Okogyeman Basapon and his townsfolk were peeved over the refusal of Daasebre Oti Boateng to allow him to swear the oath of allegiance after a high court had ruled that Daasebre had no locus to prevent the Suhyenhene from swearing the oath of the allegiance to him after the Supreme Court had declared him (Basapon) as the lawful occupant of the Suhyen stool.

Daasebre however insisted that he would go ahead with the performance of the rituals at Suhyen but a last-minute order from the REGSEC scuttled his plans as he was forced to rather go to Akwadum to perform the rites which the indigenes said was totally against the customs of the people of New Juaben.

Two alleged supporters of Daasebre Oti Boateng, who had wanted to sneak into Suhyen on a motorbike, were arrested and when they were searched, substances suspected to be Indian hemp as well as some aspects of regalia were found on them.

They were whisked to the regional police headquarters where they are currently in police custody pending investigation.

The chief of Suhyen, Okogyeman Basapon, on Friday evening thanked the REGSEC for taking that action to prevent the New Juaben Omanhene from entering Suhyen which he said had helped to restore peace in the area.

“Our intelligence told us that Daasebre Oti Boateng and his people were bent on coming and we would have also resisted them with everything that we have and that could have resulted in a bloodbath,” he said, adding that the information they had was that some people had tried to transport guns into Suhyen in a hired taxi but were arrested by the police.

According to Okogyeman Basapon, Daasebre Oti Boateng lied to the world when he, in a press release on Thursday, said one Nana Frimpong Manso who was once the chief of the town had not been destooled via the proper customary rites.

“Nana Frimpong Manso was destooled and when the stool became vacant, he tried to impose one Barfi Boateng on the town but we from the Asona family, as the rightful occupants of the stool, contested that at the Regional House of Chiefs and the National House of chiefs and eventually at the Supreme Court in which we won all the cases so Nana Frimpong Manso had already been destooled”.

He hinted that if Daasebre Oti Boateng continued to frustrate him, he would have no option but to report the matter to Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu and ask him if he could serve under him or even help him create a separate paramountcy for Suhyen.