By Akan customs and traditions the blind cannot be allowed to come before the Asantehene, paramount chief of the Asante Kingdom. This custom came to light following several failed attempts by the visually impaired to see the king. The Greater Accra President of the Ghana Union of the Blind says they have never been allowed to enter the Manhyia Palace where the Asantehene resides. Michael Asante at a regional congress in Ada, bemoaned what he said is the blatant discrimination against them. “A place like the Ashanti Region, especially to the Otumfuo, being blind person they will never allow you to enter into the Manhyia palace, because it was a taboo for them. “So they have kept that [edict] up to date. This is worrying us in the sense that the chief is a human being and I am a human being. Why can’t I talk to him directly [but I must] talk through somebody before the chief hears?” he told Joy News’ Eastern Region correspondent Benjamin Tetteh. According to him, they have tried several times to meet the Asantehene but all to no avail. Joy News checks at the Manhyia Palace confirmed the frustrations of the visually impaired. Sources at the Palace would not openly comment on the issue except to say that it is a tradition they inherited and are not about to alter.