The True Story: Re: Ewe King who rules from Germany via Skype robbed

Source: Gbi Traditional Council  -  This is a rejoinder to a story written by www.independent.co.uk and [re]published by on GhanaWeb.com on Sunday November 30, 2014 headlined “Ewe King who rules from Germany via Skype robbed....

In the story it was reported that an African King who governs his kingdom via Skype had his four gold crowns stolen from his home in Germany. The Chiefs and Queen mothers of Gbi Traditional Council attention has been drawn to this publication reproduced on social media and want to bring out the facts about this publication.

It is important to note that Cephas Kosi Bansah is not a King of Hohoe; there are no EWE Kingdoms in Ghana. The Ewe tribes in Ghana abolished Kingdoms about four hundred years back with tangible reasons. Therefore every Ewe traditional area has one Paramount Chief or “Fiaga” who is their overlord.

The Title Ngoryifia in Ewe language is equivalent to Nkosuohene in Akan language in Ghana; with an English literal meaning a developmental Chief.

This is an honorary title bestowed on any person who the people think could bring some developments to the area be it on non-citizens and strangers irrespective of the person’s religious beliefs, race, and colour and could be revoked if abused; with no allegiance to Cephas Kosi Bansah.

The council wants to clearly state that the Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area and also doubles as the Gbi Traditional Council is Togbega Gabusu VI.

The second claim as published in the article states the value of the items stolen placed around £15,900 but King argues the collection is irreplaceable to his family and country.

The council again wishes to inform the public that no Chief ever keeps the regalia outside the Traditional Area; but a chief‘s regalia is kept by the Kingmakers and they are used to adorn and decorate the Chief when he sits in council or ceremony.

Hence the said items stolen might have been personal items bought by him and not belonging to the people of the Gbi Traditional Area (Hohoe).

The third claim as published that King Bansah was crowned in 1987 after his grandfather, the reigning king, died.

Again, the council will clearly state that Cephas KosiBansah’s grandfather has never been a King of Hohoe; moreover, none of his grandparents or father has ever reigned as a Chief before.

Indeed, the right to be enstooled as a Chief of Hohoe Paramountcy passes between the families of Kadrake, Adom and Asamani: with Cephas KosiBansah who does not hail from any appropriate family and lineage paternally to be nominated, elected or selected and enstooled, enskinned or installed as a Chief in accordance with the relevant Customary law and usage of the people of Gbi (Hohoe) traditional area.

Finally, the last claim as published stated despite living in Germany, where he runs a garage, King Bansah still governs the 200,000 Hohoe people through Skype and telephone calls, often staying up late into the night to rule on tribal disputes.

The council Cephas Kosi Bansah does not rule the people of Gbi (Hohoe) and as such there was no need for him to stay up late into the night settling tribal disputes.

Hohoe as part of the Gbi Traditional Area which is made of One tribe, there are no tribal disputes to be settled, indeed there could be family disputes but there are more elderly and Senior Citizens of the area to settle such disputes if any arises.

Historically, and as part of the customs of the Gbi Traditional Area, for one to be installed as a Chief, he has to be nominated, accepted, smeared with a white clay from a black stool, confined for some days and finally enstooled.

He swears oath of allegiance to the chief and people of the area; having a symbol of traditional authority and an area of jurisdiction after which he is gazetted.

Cephas Kosi Bansah had never gone through any of these hence we wish to state here that he is not a chief as contained in the Chieftaincy Act 759. The position he occupies is a symbolic one or “honorary” and not statutory, we would like the world to treat him as such.