Asante King: Inscription on Otumfuo’s new lectern grabs attention

Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has been deeply engaged in events commemorating his Silver Jubilee as the occupant of the Golden Stool.

One of the most anticipated events was the temporary return of looted artefacts from British museums to the Manhyia Palace Museum.

The event took place with Otumfuo formally reopening the refurbished museum, which now has scores of the returned artefacts on display.

During his address at the event, Otumfuo was captured using a brightly coloured lectern, which he was using for the first time, according to GhanaWeb checks.

It has the bold inscription, ‘Asante King,’ as he delivered his speech flanked by courtiers and other officials of the 25th Anniversary Committee.

A Facebook page, Asante Kyidom, captioned their post of the said photo as follows: “Otumfuo outdoors his personal lectern with the inscription ‘Asante King.’

Debate about Otumfuo’s status in Chieftaincy structure

The status of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as a traditional ruler in Ghana has been a subject of public debate.

While proponents of Asanteman argue that they have a king who governs the Ashanti Kingdom, others contend that there is no kingdom and, consequently, no king in Ghana.

Those who assert that there is no king or kingdom in Ghana base their argument on the chieftaincy laws of the country, particularly the Chieftaincy Act of 2008 (Act 759).

Section 58 of the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759) lists the categories of chiefs in Ghana as follows:

(a) the Asantehene and Paramount Chiefs,
(b) Divisional Chiefs,
(c) Sub-divisional Chiefs,
(d) Adikrofo, and
(e) other chiefs recognized by the National House.

Otumfuo addressed the subject of the domain he oversees while speaking at the climax of the 57th Congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in November 2023.

In a well-crafted statement, the Asantehene, who delivered his speech in English, did not mince words when he referred to the territory he oversees as a kingdom.

Here is what Asantehene said:

“Not so long ago, we all heard of actions I took against some chiefs in my kingdom who were either covertly or overtly involved in illegal mining activities… I urge the government to take reciprocal actions in the fight against illegal mining.”