By Isaac Nsiah Foster
May 15, 2025
Residents of Manso Asaman in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region have made a passionate appeal to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to install a new chief to restore traditional leadership and tackle the rising wave of crime and underdevelopment in the area.
The town has been without a chief since 2011, following the death of Nana Akuamoah Boaten, who also served as Asafo Akwamuhene. Speaking to the media, the chief fetish priest of the town, Nana Boakye, lamented the leadership vacuum, saying it has contributed to increasing social vices.
“For many years now, we have had no chief, and this has opened the floodgates for drug abuse, illegal mining, and other criminal activities,”
Nana Boakye said. “Just last week, some irate youth took the law into their own hands and blocked the main road from Manso Asaman to the Saint Martin’s Hospital at Agroyesum. This happened simply because we don’t have traditional leadership to deal with this nonsense.”
Opinion leader Mr. Agyei Thompson expressed grave concern over the tarnishing image of the town, citing a surge in violent crimes. He recounted the recent killing of a mobile money vendor, Augustine Mensah, who was stabbed and shot multiple times by unknown assailants after closing from work.
“The community’s reputation is at stake. If the stigma of violence is attached to your town, it affects all forms of development and scares away investors,” Mr. Thompson stressed. “We are appealing to our King, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to install a new chief for us to steer the affairs of Asaman. Nana, we beg you.”
Residents also pointed to stalled development projects, including a school building initiated during the reign of the late Nana Akuamoah Boaten, which has since come to a standstill due to the absence of traditional supervision.
While acknowledging the efforts of the Obaapanin of Manso Asaman, Nana Afiah Boatemaa, and the Assembly Member, Hon. Enoch Agyei Marfo, popularly known as Agonbe, residents say their leadership, though commendable, is not enough.
They are therefore calling on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to resolve the protracted chieftaincy dispute and install a substantive chief to restore order and promote development in the town.