Rejoinder by principal elders of Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa in respect of suspension of Nii Doku III as the head of the Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa by Gbese Dzaase
THE attention of the Principal Elders of the Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa has been drawn to a publication in The Ghanaian Times newspaper dated the 16th day of August, 2024 by the Dzaase of Gbese purporting to have suspended Nii Doku III as the Head of the Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa.
Sometime on or around the 18th day of July, 2024, the head of the Nii Doku We received a letter from the Office of the Gbese Dzaase dated July 15, 2024 purporting to have unilaterally suspended him as Head of Nii Doku We.
The Gbese Dzaase wrote the letter without affording Nii Doku III the opportunity to address any allegations/complaints leveled against him. The Gbese Dzaase did not give our head of family a hearing.
As the Principal Elders of the Nii Doku We who duly nominated, elected and appointed Nii Doku III as the Head of the Nii Doku We are the only ones clothed with the requisite capacity to remove or suspend him as our head of family.
The members of the Gbese Dzaase who are not members of the Nii Doku We cannot under any circumstances whatsoever purport to suspend our Head of Family.
The head of the Nii Doku We upon receipt of the said letter immediately responded by a letter dated 29th July 2024 to the Gbese Dzaase challenging the authority of the Gbese Dzaase to suspend him (a copy of the letter is attached for your attention).Nii Doku also challenged the authority of the Gbese Dzaase to purportedly suspend him without giving him the opportunity to respond to the allegations thus denying him of a fair hearing.
The Gbese Dzaase failed, refused and did not respond to the issues raised in Nii Doku III’s letter. Surprisingly, the Gbese Dzaase after having failed to respond to and address the issues contained in the response of Nii Doku III, went ahead to publish their letter in the media. This act of publishing the letter to Nii Doku III in the media is very unfortunate, as it poisons the minds of members of the Gbese Community raising questions as to the motives of the Gbese Dzaase.
We state with no uncertainty that there is only one Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa and all the various quarters of the family including the Swalaba Quarter (Asafoatse Christopher Branford Nettey) are under the leadership of the head of the Nii Doku We. No Quarter of the Nii Doku We can usurp the power and authority of the head of the Nii Doku We.
In recent times the Principal Elders and the Head of the Nii Doku We in accordance with customs, practice and usage of Gbese duly appointed and installed Lionel Nii Nertey Nettey a member of the Nii Doku We as Asafoatse.
We duly notified the entire Gbese Dzaase including the signatories of the said letter namely Nii Okai Kasablofo V, Nii Ayi Ardayfio II and Nii Okai Tagoe as custom demanded and they all accepted same without any objection whatsoever. Having been duly notified and having received the customary drink and token without any objections, the said Dzaase and the signatories cannot without any authority whatsoever purport to suspend the head of family for appointing an Asafoatse. Nii Doku in appointing the Asafoatse acted with the consent and concurrence of all the Principal Elders of Nii Doku We.
The laws of the Republic of Ghana state clearly that the position of the Head of Family is distinct from chieftaincy positions and thus the Gbese Dzaase as chieftaincy position holder cannot sway into family matters and take over and direct the affairs of families of which they are not members.
We wish to state emphatically that as Principal Elders of the Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa, we have not suspended Nii Doku III as the Head of the Nii Doku We. Nii Doku III is the Head of the Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa as he was duly appointed by the Principal Elders of Nii Doku We and subsequently introduced to the Gbese leadership-chiefs and key stakeholders.
We hereby state that the purported suspension of Nii Doku III and consequent publication of same by the Gbese Dzaase is an act in error, ultra vires and an attempt to bring disunity within the Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa and Gbese as a whole.We reiterate that Nii Doku III is the head of the Nii Doku We of Gbese Sonmenaa and he has not been suspended by the Principal Elders of the family.
Long live Nii Doku We and Long live Gbese.
-Signed- Principal Elders of Nii Doku We
