The Pampaso Sub-Traditional Council in Kumasi has invoked traditional curses on the Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Arthur Osei Akoto, and the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, over a disputed parcel of land the council claims belongs to the Pampaso Stool.

According to the council, the land currently occupied by the Ashanti Regional Police Headquarters, Police bungalows, the Children's Hospital area and adjoining properties was originally released by the Chief of Pampaso to the government strictly for public use.

The chiefs, however, allege that the Ashanti Regional Police Command has expanded beyond the original boundaries and has allocated part of the disputed land to a private developer for the construction of shops.

Speaking in an interview, the Pampaso Gyaasehene, Nana Obeng Afriyie, said the council has no objection to the portion of land lawfully granted to the government but strongly opposes what it describes as the unauthorised occupation of additional stool lands without the consent of either the Pampaso Stool or the Asantehene.

He further alleged that the Ashanti Regional Police Commander and the Kumasi Mayor had previously appeared before the Traditional Council to justify the Police Service's claim to the land but were unable to produce evidence proving the property belongs to the Police.

Nana Obeng Afriyie also accused the officials of acting with the support of the Interior Minister to facilitate what he described as the unlawful takeover of the stool land.

According to him, the council would not stand by while its ancestral lands were allegedly taken over without due process.

As part of their protest, the chiefs performed traditional rites at the disputed site, slaughtering a sheep and invoking curses against the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, the Kumasi Mayor and the Interior Minister.

The council said the ritual was intended to call the three officials before their ancestral gods to face spiritual consequences should they continue what the chiefs describe as the unlawful occupation of the land.

The Pampaso Sub-Traditional Council maintained that it would continue to pursue both traditional and lawful means to protect the disputed stool lands.

Mayor rejects allegations

Responding to the claims, Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi denied any involvement in the alleged takeover of the land.

He said neither he nor the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) played any role in the construction of the alleged police shops on the disputed property or approved any private commercial development there.

On the curses invoked against him, Mr Boadi said he remained unfazed, insisting he had done nothing wrong.

"I am not scared of their curse because I have no involvement in the construction of the police stores in Adum-Pampaso," he said.

The Mayor described the chiefs' actions as contrary to due process, arguing that any land dispute should be resolved through the appropriate traditional and legal channels rather than through spiritual sanctions.

He also warned that he would report the chiefs involved in the ritual to the Asantehene if video evidence confirmed their participation.

"I have not seen the video yet, and I will report members of the Adum-Pampaso Traditional Council who were involved to the Asantehene if I see video evidence of them cursing me," he stated.

Efforts by JoyNews to obtain responses from the Ashanti Regional Police Command and the Ministry of the Interior were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.