...Laden With Falsehoods to Okay FM

On Thursday, 7 May 2015 at around 10:00, I could hear one Mr Adu Gyamfi grant an interview to Okay Fm – 107.1 FM Accra, when I had tuned in to listen to the station. He had come on air to rebut interviews granted to same radio station by Kumawuhene Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V and Nana Akua Serwaah the previous week on the ongoing Kumawu chieftaincy dispute. When I noticed he was spewing total lies, I decided to phone in to the radio station to give the listeners the correct version of the story. However, tried as I did, I could not get through. The phone would keep ringing on end without anyone answering it. In other attempts made, the line was permanently engaged.

When he phoned in, he introduced himself as Adu Gyamfi, elected by the family head (abusuapanin) of the Kumawu Ankaase royal family to speak on his behalf. He said among other things the following: That,

1. I am Adu Gyamfi, elected to speak on behalf of the "Abusuapanin" of the Kumawu Ankaase royal family. 2. All that Oduro, the person self-claiming to have installed himself Kumawuhene from the Ananangya royal family told you last week was false. 3. Unless we sit you down three times on the Kumawu Koduah Stool in line with tradition, you cannot become Kumawuhene. 4. Barimah Sarfo Tweneboah Koduah (Dr Yaw Sarfo) has been sat three times on the stool. Subsequently, he is the sole genuine Kumawuhene. 5. When the Ananangya family members accused him of being the son of a Northerner ("pepeni ba"), we took him before Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. When Otumfuo looked at all of us, thoroughly examining our faces but could see no tribal marks on our faces, he concluded that none of us is a son of a Northerner as alleged because northerners have facial marks. 6. Dr Yaw Sarfo was properly nominated, selected and installed by Kumawu kingmakers in accordance with Kumawu traditions, custom and usage. 7. He did never pay any bribes before his nomination, selection and enthronement. The monies he paid which Oduro and others say were bribes weren't at all. It is a traditional requirement to pay money to your elders when you are newly elected as chief (become a chief-elect). Asantehene and all the Asanteman chiefs agreed they weren't bribes but just that the money paid was huge, they said. 8. When the Ananangya and Odumase royal families took Kumawuhemaa and Dr Yaw Sarfo to court, accusing them of influencing the Kumawu kingmakers with bribes to elect Dr Yaw Sarfo, the judge dismissed the case saying no bribery has been established to have taken place. He instructed Kumawuhemaa to proceed to install Dr Yaw Sarfo as Kumawuhene. 9. The person calling herself Nana Akua Serwaah who spoke after Oduro is never known to me. 10. In this world, apart from God, there is no-one who has power more than Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. 11. All people in Kumawu traditional area do recognise Barimah Sarfo Tweneboah Koduah as their only adorable Omanhene. 12. He has sworn in seventeen sub-chiefs since his enstoolment.

He said a lot but let me settle for the few stated above. When I could see him tell deliberate lies, I decided to place out a publication on the internet after my initial failed attempts to challenge him on air.

As someone desirous to feed the reading public with nothing but the truth, concerning the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute, I decided to run a background check on this said Mr Adu Gyamfi. I did this because I wondered why he had chosen to lie knowing there are already video evidence posted on YouTube and other published facts on the internet to deny most, if not all, of his claims. I also wondered who could be that person acting so ignorantly on air.

I found out the following information about him. He is one Michael Adu Gyamfi, that fat guy who was from time to time whispering into the ears of Kumawuhene from behind, in the video posted on YouTube titled, "Asantehene involves in corruption". He is indeed a member of the Kumawu Ankaase family. He is neither their "abusuapanin" nor has he been elected by their "abusuapanin" (Nana Kwame Acheampong) to speak on his behalf.

This Michael Adu Gyamfi was once a roving pastor. He has lately been preaching in a church in Kumawu called "Go Ye Church". He wants to become a pastor in the church but the members have denied him his request.

He even had the initial intent to contest for Kumawuhene on the death of Barimah Asumadu Sakyi II, the late Kumawuhene. However, he later rescinded his decision. He feared his alleged crimes committed decades ago would resurface to be used as charges against his candidacy. What crimes were they, one may want to know?

He was alleged to have stolen some roofing sheets from the late Maame Nkyaah's house and later poisoned the person (Akwasi Boye) who saw him steal them. A certain man had purchased and placed some roofing sheets needed for his housing project in Maame Nkyaah's house at Kumawu Apebiakyere. Michael was alleged to have gone to steal them when Akwasi Boye was sitting in a corner eating his fufu. Akwasi Boye was noted for liking fufu so much, they say. He told the man he saw Michael steal the roofing sheets. He said this when the man came to find the roofing sheets gone missing. A few days later, he left his prepared soup in the kitchen. He went out hoping to come back to use it for his evening fufu meal. Michael went behind him to put some poison in the soup, it was alleged. Kwasi Boye unaware of what had taken place while he was out ate the soup. He died as a result of consuming it.

Why did he kill Akwasi Boye if indeed he put some poison in the soup? He had already been exposed as the thief. Did he punish him in that way to serve a lesson to other future "okro" mouths? He is again alleged to have killed one Kwame Asabre. Did Asabre also eat some of the poisoned soup?

If what has been revealed after the conduction of my investigative check into his background is not true, why did he backtrack on his initial intention to compete for the position of Kumawuhene? How then did both mentioned persons die? Can he volunteer contrary information to my findings in case he perceives them as incredible?

I am not accusing him of theft or murder but only reporting information that turned out during my investigations.

Is Michael not one of those very people from the Ankaase family who started circulating information on Dr Yaw Sarfo for being a son of a Northerner, soon after Kumawuhemaa made up her mind in year 2008 to have him installed as Kumawuhene? He is. He initiated that along with some of those now become the spokespersons for Dr Yaw Sarfo, the alleged Barimah Sarfo Tweneboah Koduah. Someone holds credible softcopy information on Michael in this regard.

He claimed on the radio not to know Nana Akua Serwaah. However, Nana Akua Serwaah is not only from the same Ankaase family as he, but also, a close family member. Michael's mother (Yaa Amponsah) and Nana Akua Serwaah's mother (Alice Norris) came from the same mother (Akua Fokuah). Their grandmother whose hand was given in marriage to one Alex Norris, the then British District Commissioner of Juaso, by Kumawuhene Kwame Afram, gave birth to Alice Norris, Nkyaah, Afrakomah, Yaa Amponsah and many others.

Alex Norris had two children by her, Alice and her elder sister who but chose to live in Britain until her death while Alice went back to Ghana with her mum when her parents divorced. Auntie Alice and her elder sister were of mixed race. After the divorce, Nana Akua Fokuah remarried a black man to give birth to her other children including Michael's mother. Therefore, for Michael to say in public that she does not know Nana Akua Serwaah is simply absurd. He is surely being economical with the truth.

Back to telling what I know about his bragging on air, Dr Yaw Sarfo, the alleged Kumawuhene going by the stool name Barimah Sarfo Tweneboah Koduah fell three times on attempts to sit on the blackened Barimah Tweneboah Koduah I's stool. He never sat on it three times. Even it is known among many in Kumawu that the man who finally held his buttocks to sit him down on the stool, suffered stroke soon afterwards.

Whatever the person Michael addresses as Oduro said was true. He is now the famous and popular Kumawuhene Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V, who Asantehene, Dr Yaw Sarfo and Kumawuhemaa have colluded with DCOP Nathan Kofi Boakye to use his police personnel to harass, but they will not succeed.

Nobody from the Ananangya and Odumase royal families accused Dr Yaw Sarfo of being the son of a Northerner but his own Ankaase family members did – openly by Op. Osei Kwabena and secretly by Michael Adu Gyamfi. In the video mentioned above, Op. Osei Kwabena declared before the entire Asanteman Council on 24 February 2014 that Dr Yaw Sarfo is "Obo3 fa dadee fa". Therefore, Michael's claim that Asantehene after examining their faces, but without seeing any tribal marks declared them not northerners is a blatant lie.

In the same video, one could hear Kumawuhemaa makes claims of having paid money to the sub-chiefs, with the sub-chiefs asking for additional money. All the "Amanhene" castigated the sub-chiefs for accepting such heavy bribes hence Michael is lying if he says no bribery took place. The money paid was not in compliance with Kumawu traditions, custom and usage as contrarily posited by Michael.

It is never true the citizens of Kumawuman like Dr Yaw Sarfo. Over 95% of Kumawuman citizens worldwide do not accept him as their chief. If it wasn't so, why is he guarded by the police in their numbers wherever he goes? Why cannot he walk down the streets of Kumawu without police escort, unlike Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V? Why is he also arranging the police to terrorise Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V? All his plots will come to no avail as long as Kumawuman citizens are resolutely determined not to have him as Kumawuhene for a number of reasons specified in my previous publications.

In the end, who cares about the number of sub-chiefs he has illegally installed. When the head is not sound, the entire body is considered rotten.

Mr Michael Adu Gyamfi is said to have been promised a huge sum of money by Dr Yaw Sarfo to help him complete his house started in Kumawu which is only a little raised above the foundation level, his only life's time achievement. The money promised to him will come from the Kumawuman funds with the Bank of Ghana any day Kumawuhemaa, Dr Yaw Sarfo and their accomplices lay hands on it.

Has Kumawuhemaa not suggested to Michael that going into effective pastoral job will yield him more money hence has introduced him to some church in Kumasi? I am just asking.

It is clearly an act of displaying ignorance and illiteracy by Michael to say with authority that Asantehene is the most powerful person on earth. Even in Ghana where he lives, President Mahama is more powerful than Asantehene, let alone, talking about people like the queens and kings of Britain, Netherlands, Sweden etc.

Okay FM are advised to read the contents of the following links in conjunction with watching the videos posted on YouTube titled, "Asantehene involves in corruption" and those that pop up when you key in "Real Kumawuhene" on your laptop, computer desktop or smartphone, to see the truth about Kumawu stool dispute for themselves.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=338032

http://www.modernghana.com/news/614317/1/re-kumawu-chieftaincy-affairs-the-true-picture.html

Rockson Adofo