The protracted Ga Mantse chieftaincy dispute has entered a new phase following the commencement of hearing of a petition by the Judicial Committee of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, more than six years after it was filed by Nii Adama Latse II.
The petition, filed on May 29, 2019, had suffered several adjournments due to the adjudication of other aspects of the dispute in different judicial fora.
Chaired by the Ada Mantse, Nene Abraham Kabu Akuaku III, the committee is hearing a petition seeking a declaration affirming Nii Adama Latse II as the legitimate and lawfully enstooled Ga Mantse.
The petitioner is also praying the committee to order the first respondent, Dr Kelvin Tackie, to vacate the Ga Stool House and the Ga Mantse Palace, direct the fourth respondent to hand over the administration of the Ga Traditional Council to him, and grant any other relief the committee may deem fit.
Other members of the committee are the Teshie Mantse, Gbetsoolor Nii Ashitey Akomfra III and the Great Ningo Mantse, Nene Djangmah Osroh Agboh XII.
The case reached the hearing stage after case management was completed on May 14, 2026, with the first sitting for the cross-examination of the petitioner’s first witness held on June 11, 2026.
However, when the case was called on July 13, 2026, to continue the cross-examination, counsel for the respondents, Mr Nii Ayikoi Otoo, through a representative filed a motion to call additional witnesses.
Counsel for the petitioner however, objected, arguing that the motion had no bearing on the ongoing cross-examination and was intended only to delay the proceedings.
The committee upheld the application in part and awarded a cost of GH¢5,000 against the respondents, and adjourned the case to July 31, 2026, to hear the motion before continuing the cross-examination of the petitioner’s first witness.
In the petition, Nii Adama Latse II maintains that he was legally and customarily installed as Paramount Chief of the Ga Traditional Area on June 11, 2011, following the demise of Boni Nii Amugi
It is Nii Adama Latse’s contention that as of 2019 when he filed his petition, he was the gazetted Ga Mantse and member of the Greater Accra regional house of chiefs
He asserted that his name was entered into the National Register of Chiefs in April 2014 and that he has since remained the substantive occupant of the Ga Paramount Stool.
The petitioner further argued that Dr Kelvin Tackie, the first respondent, was one of three claimants to the Ga Paramount Stool but insisted that the relevant traditional and statutory institutions have recognised him as the duly installed and gazetted Ga Mantse.
He further alleged that the respondents have unlawfully usurped his authority by refusing to relinquish control of the Ga Traditional Council, occupying the Ga Stool House without lawful authority and performing functions reserved for the Ga Mantse.
According to him, those actions have prevented him from fully discharging his customary and administrative responsibilities as Paramount Chief of the Ga Traditional Area.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
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