The New Juaben Traditional Council has challenged a petition to the National House of Chiefs by the Kontihene of the Traditional Area.

According to the Council, the claim by the Kontihene of alleged anomalies in the list of chiefs presented is a fatal misjudgment.

The New Juaben Traditional Council said the Kontihene did not seek clarification from them before proceeding with the petition.

"Kontihene made the fallacious and vicious statement in his petition that 'anomalies have occurred in the list presented to the National House of Chiefs and its President. This statement is falsely blaming the Traditional Council without any basis whatsoever.

"If he was so sure that the original list submitted by the Traditional Council contained these  anomalies, why didn’t he produce that list as documentary evidence to justify his wild claim?," the statement said.

This comes after the Kontihene of the New Juaben Traditional Area called on the National House of Chiefs (NHC) to correct some major anomalies and illegitimacy in the Legislative Instrument (L.I) 2409 before it becomes a ‘monster’ in the chieftaincy institution in Ghana.

Baffour Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng, in the petition, addressed to the President of the NHC and copied to the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs and the New Juaben Traditional Council, alleged that the list of divisional chiefs from the New Juaben Traditional Area as captured in the (Membership of the Regional House of Chiefs) Instrument 2020 (L.I. 2409) is illegitimate and contains non-existing stools, unheard of in the Traditional Area since 1875.

This claim, however, has been countered by the New Juaben Traditional Council which has stated that if indeed the Kontihene did his checks, he would have noticed that the list of Chiefs submitted to the NHC were genuine names of the twelve Divisional Chiefs of the area.

"The Omanhene of the area had already written to the President of the National House of Chiefs to amend the LI of the detected errors with the specific inclusion of the names of the twelve Divisional Chiefs originally submitted but inadvertently excluded from the LI."

"However, Baffour Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng did not act in this regard, instead went about petitioning the President of the National House of Chiefs with copies to various media platforms without recourse to the Omanhene or the Traditional Council.

"This act violates customary law and the hierarchy of the Traditional Council establishment. 

"The action taken by the Kontihene constitutes a betrayal of the sacred oath he has sworn to the Paramount Stool and the Traditional Area and calls into sharp focus his loyalty and integrity to the Stool," they said.

The Council also stated that Baffuor Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng, was found guilty of some serious customary breaches last year which were all recorded in the minutes of the Traditional Council meetings. 

In accordance with tradition, he is expected to seek clemency and restitution but instead, he has decided to estrange himself from the activities of the New Juaben Traditional Council.

This, they added is a breach of the traditions and customs of the area.

"By writing directly to the President of the National House of Chiefs without passing through the Omanhene or the Traditional Council, Kontihene has committed two significant breaches.

"The first breach is his failure to pass the petition through his Overlord in accordance with customary law and usage. The second is by bypassing the Traditional Council,  the ultimate traditional leadership power, which has the legal mandate of original jurisdiction over all matters and causes affecting Chieftaincy in the Traditional Area, thus contravening the Chieftaincy Act of 2008."