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How Atta Kyea fled to UK to avoid being enstooled as Okyenhene

Being a candidate for the Okyenhene after the death of Nana Kuntunkununku II, the Member of Parliament for Akyem Abuakwa, Samuel Atta Akyea has disclosed how he fled the country to avoid the kingship role.

As a member of the royal Osagyefo Ofori Atta I, Mr Atta Akyea in an interview with Citi TV, monitored by GhanaWeb, said the difficulty in marrying tradition with his Christian belief caused him to abstain from the office of Okyehene.

“If you pay regard to the Christian principles, there is no invocation of the dead. We do not pray that Abraham should rise and come to our aid but in the traditional setting, we invoke the ancestors. So there is ancestral worship which is the centrality of the traditional worship and also the stools have the belief that a man dies and that is not the end so the Osagyefo Ofori Atta I is symbolized in a black stool and that is difficult to really marry the two and this is where our difficulty is,” he indicated.

Faced with the choice of becoming the Okyenhene and sticking to his Christian beliefs, the Akyem Abuakwa MP said he chose to stick to his Christian values.

“Eventually I believe the God of the Bible which will mean that I will not participate in the issues of the tradition to the point of evoking the river god, the Birim River, to the point of saying that today we are going to the stool room, we are going to go to the royal mausoleum we shouldn’t wear sandals and all that. I didn’t subscribe to that,” Mr. Atta Akyea stated.

He added that “the Okyenhene’s Office is a serious office in the sense of the traditional commitment. I didn’t see myself to that level.”

With his succession to the office of Okyenhene being a “fait accompli”, Mr Atta Kyea said he was only able to swerve becoming the ruler of the Akyem kingdom by escaping to the United Kingdom even without informing his cousin and close confidant, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

“I escaped the situation, even without telling President Akufo-Addo I went to the United Kingdom…. I fled and I did that without even telling my mother. I did it with my wife,” he said.

Mr Atta Kyea reveals that as a potential leader of the Akyem Abuakwa kingdom, he was groomed for the position and had one of his relatives preparing him for the role.

He avers that besides rejecting the role due to his Christian faith, he also sought to avoid unnecessary competition as the current Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin who filled his stead was equally qualified for the position.

“I didn’t want, excuse me to say unnecessary competition when the present and current Okyehene from my perspective was fit to step into the shoes of his brother.”

On how his family reacted to his decision, Mr Atta Akyea said his relatives thought he was getting mad and that saw him receiving a constant visit from some members of the family who travelled to the UK to get him to change his mind.

“They thought I was getting mad because that is the highest office that every royal would like to covert. So I had people coming to me. Some of the daughters of the Ofori Atta were there, a lot of people came to me that I shouldn’t take such a decision.”

He however states that he has no regrets for refusing to ascend the Okyenhene stool.

 

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. In addition to his media ventures, Solomon serves as a Brand Ambassador for Alabuga, a prominent Russian industrial company, representing their interests and expansion across Africa. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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