The Overlord of the Mo Traditional Area, Nana Kwaku Dankwa III, has indicated that the claim by the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area that the Kintampo Yam Market and the waterfalls belong to the Nkoranza Stool lands is palpably false and unfounded.

“It must be placed on record for all to know that it was Nana Kwaku Dimpo II, the then Omanhene of Mo Traditional Area, who gave out the land for the Kintampo Market to be constructed and also poured libation for the commencement of work on the land.

"It must also be placed on record again that the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area did not attend the function for the commencement of work on the New Market, although he was invited. Ask him why he failed to attend the function and allowed Nana Kwaku Dimpo II to pour libation to commence the construction of the market," he said at a press conference on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

According to him, when it became necessary to construct the new market, the two paramount chiefs in Kintampo were consulted to offer lands for selection by the Assembly for the construction of the new market, and the Nkoranza Manhene at the time, who wanted the market to be constructed on his land, offered to give the land at the Animal Husbandry along the Ntankoro Road, while Omanhene of Mo Traditional Area also offered the land where the current market is located.

“The District Assembly accepted the site offered by the Omanhene of the Mo Traditional Area because of its strategic location, lying along the Kumasi-Tamale highway. On the day when the market was to be commissioned for the construction of the market, Nkoranza Manhene boycotted the event as a protest for the choice made by the Assembly of not accepting his offer to construct the market on his land."

"We therefore find it strange for him to claim in his press statement that the market land is part of his stool lands. Nana Nkoranza Hene must be told the truth if he doesn’t know. Where was Nana Nkoranza Hene when the market land was being taken over by Mr. Agyapong Adu-Baah, popularly known as Dr. Patapaa, a well-known indigene of Nkoranza? Had it not been the Mos who stopped him with a court action from demolishing the market on January 4, 2020, Dr. Patapaa would have demolished the market to claim the market land. Would Nana Nkoranza Hene have gone to claim the land from him? We think the elders of Nana Nkoranza Hene are not briefing him well."

"We equally want the whole world to know that the Mos, until the demise of Nana Kwaku Dimpo II, performed yearly rights at the Kintampo waterfalls. The yearly ceremony stopped because of the long chieftaincy litigation of the Mo Stool after the demise of the Mo Manhene in 1999. We want to state that the Kintampo Waterfalls are directly located on Mo lands, as demarcated by Fuller and later confirmed by Hobbs,” he said.

He continued that in 1958, Nana Suma Nsiah, the Odikro of the Old Kyeremankoma, before they relocated from the old Kyeremankoma to the present day Kyeremankoma to settle, wrote to the Omanhene of Mo Traditional Area, Nana Kwaku Dimpo II, for permission to allow them to settle on their new location as he knew the said land belongs to the people of Mo and Nana Dimpo II, being all-embracing, accepted to grant them the said land for settlement but cautioned them never to ever claim ownership of the land.

“There has never been a time in history where the Mos have been colonized by any ethnic group, not even the Ashantis, much less the Nkoranza people. The Mos were warriors and have existed as an independent state throughout history. Nana Nkoranza Manhene was therefore not truthful with his assertion. He should provide proof that he is truthful."

"I want to state categorically that Mo has been in existence and shared territorial boundaries with Ashanti Mampong at Longoro Nkwanta (now Donkro Nkwanta), Techiman, Abease, Wenchi, Nafana, and Gonja before the arrival of the three old men (Nkokora Miensa) to found the Nkoranza state at its present location. Before then, the Paramount Chief of Mo was a permanent member of the Ashantiman Council as far back as the early 1600s, at the time of the Ashanti Confederacy during the regime of Otumfuo Osei Tutu I. How come Nana Nkoranza Hene should think that we gained our independence from them in 1919?”

“It is in fact very ridiculous for the Nkoranza Manhene to say that Nana Awuti Koffour is Kintampo Hene when he knows he is only the chief of Nwoase, a suburb of Kintampo. Why did they install Nana Awuti Kuffour as Kintampohene without the consent of the Mos when they are very aware that Kintampo is a shared town between the Mos and Nkoranza people? Does he think we do not matter? I want to tell Nana Kwame Baffoe that if Nkoranza has the right and authority to install Kintampo Hene in Kintampo, Mos also has a similar right and authority to install Kintampo Hene in Kintampo. He who comes with equity must come with clean hands,” he said.

The Overlord of the MO Traditional Area stated unequivocally that Nana Awuti Kuffour, whose Nkoranza claim is Kintampohene, and his Nwoase Community, as well as Kyeremankoma Community and Damoama Community, are all located on Molands as per the Fuller Commission report of the demarcation Nana Kwame Baffoe Pim referred to in his press conference.

"We, the Mo people, are getting enlightened, educated, and can now read between the lines, unlike our forefathers, who were not educated to understand and interpret maps, landmarks, land indentures, and other land-related documents and reports. We have grown to know that Nkoranza has no land in Kintampo and that Mo share a common land boundary with Abease Traditional Area at the east of Kintampo and Techiman at the south-east,” he added.