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The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister-designate has accused the Krontihene of Sunyani of inciting members of the Sunyani Traditional Council against him.

The Sunyani Traditional Council during a press conference called on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to withdraw the nomination of Lawyer Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh as the regional minister designate.

Lawyer Asomah-Cheremeh, the chiefs said showed gross disrespect to them during the 2016 electioneering campaign after the Sunyani Manhene had assured former President John Mahama of 80% of votes from the Brong Ahafo Region.

Reacting to this press conference, the Brong Ahafo NPP said they would not apolgise to the chiefs who disrespected the Constitution and meddled in politics.

“We will deal with Asomah-Cheremeh if he goes to apologise…we want to reiterate that we stand by what we said, we have no regrets, the chiefs meddled in politics and that is unconstitutional so they must be told in the face…Asomah-Kyeremeh would be the Regional Minister…,” Kwame Baffoe, the Brong Ahafo Regional Youth Organiser of the NPP threatened.

Speaking to this issue on Adom FM’s Morning Show, ‘Dwaso Nsem’ Friday, Lawyer Asomah-Cheremeh accused the Krontihene of Sunyani, Nana Bofoatia Boamponsem of inciting the traditional council against him just to settle personal scores.

“The Krontihene is the one behind all these press conferences and attacks on me from the palace, it looks like he has personal scores to settle with me…,” he alleged.

The struggles with the Krontihene, Lawyer Asomah-Kyeremeh narrated on the show, began some years before Nana Bofotia was installed the Krontihene of Sunyani.

The Krontihene has unfortunately been the loser of cases involving him and his clients, he narrated.

“One Addae Munumkum, the Krontihene and seven others were accused by the SDA church of which they are members of stealing their roofing sheets. Police prosecutor, Wiafe Tawiah summoned them before the Fiapre Circuit court and I was contracted by Addae Munumkum who was also accused of stealing money as well to represent him at the court. Krontihene and the other accused persons also contracted a different lawyer.

“I was tasked to cross-examine the Krontihene and I am sure he was not happy with the nature of the cross-examination. I believe that is the genesis of the bad blood between the two of us…,” he said. This case, he said occurred at a time Nana Bofotia Boamponsem had not been installed as the Krontihene of Sunyani.

Another instance, Lawyer Asomah-Kyeremeh recounted was when he was contracted to lead a group of traders in a land dispute between them and the Krontihene, Nana Bofotia Boamponsem.

“At the Nana Bosoma market, next to Kramo Enterprise is a parcel of land which Krontihene claimed belonged to him and hence called on the people occupying the land to come to agree on some terms with him.

“The people engaged my services as a Lawyer. I told him that the land was lawfully acquired from the Lands Commission and was governed by Executive Instrument 41 made at the time of President Kwame Nkrumah. Due to my intervention, Nana couldn’t succeed in whatever he wanted to do so the case was put to rest,” he recounted.

Another land dispute involving the Melcom Group and one of his clients in which the Krontihene tried to intervene but was not successful, he said led to the extreme friction that has developed between him and Nana Bofotia Boamponsem.

“Since that time, he has always accused me of showing gross disrespect, but I find it difficult to comprehend that because I was only discharging my duties as a Lawyer employed by clients whose orders I was obeying…,” he said.

Sunyani Traditional Council vs NPP battle

In the run up to the 2016 general elections, the Omanhene of Sunyani, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri, confidently stated that the Brong Ahafo Region was going to give former President John Mahama 80 percent of votes in the 2016 elections.

The declaration led to the development of bad blood between the Brong Ahafo branch of the NPP and the chiefs in the region.

The politicians considered the assertion a blatant breach of Article 276 Clause 1 of the 1992 constitution which states that, “a chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his stool or skin”.

But the chiefs were rather angered because according to them, the NPP’s Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman made derogatory remarks against them after the endorsement.

According to the Krontihene, Asomah-Cheremeh responded to the traditional council’s summon to him to appear before them by insisting that the chiefs rather breached Ghana' Cconstitution which prohibits chiefs from partaking in active politics.

Lawyer Asomah-Cheremeh further indicated that he was not prepared to offer any apology to the chiefs since he did not err in law by reacting to their press conference.