Shai Traditional Council Gets New President

A ceremony took place at Dodowa, the Capital of Shai Osudoko, in Greater Accra, on December 20, 2018, by the District Magistrate of the Dodowa Court to usher in a new president of the Shai Traditional Council.

Nene Martey Kojo Ahwa IV, who has ruled for about 15 years after the death of Nene Martey Chartey Ahwa III, was sworn in as the president of the Shai Traditional Council.

Though, traditionally the paramount chief as customs demand and as the senior most ruler, should be president and leader of the council, others who are subordinates as divisional chiefs usurped the authority of the paramountcy.

It took legal action by the paramountcy to rectify the situation and to compel the subordinates to surrender to Odeopeor Kojo Martey Ahwa IV as president of the council.

Within the short period of fifteen years, as many as six divisional chiefs presided over the Shai Traditional Council until the seventh who was not even a gazzetted chief, acted as president of the traditional council.

This anomaly, which came to the notice of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs at Dodowa through a judicial suit, ruled that a non-gazzetted chief whose position as a traditional ruler was unofficial could not, and should not be allowed to rule over the Shai State

The ruling by the judicial committee of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, and the High Court ruling compelled the divisional chiefs in the Shai State to usher in the gazzetted Nene Martey Kojo Ahwa, who had officially been enstooled as the paramount chief about fifteen years ago.

For many years according to a source, the resources including lands of the Shai State had been willfully plundered by faceless individuals.

However, Nene Akwa hinted that steps would be taken to streamline everything.

According to the Mankralo of the Shai State, Marteh Wayo III, the official swearing in of the paramount chief as the substantive president was in order, as all those divisional chiefs, who presided, acted in their capacity.

Nene Kojo Martey Ahwa IV, as the Paramount Chief, explained he could now formulate new policies to foster discipline through the judicial committee, to check the numerous chieftaincy excesses in the Shai State

When asked what the paramountcy would do, looking back at the treatment meted out to the Ahwa family, the ruling royal lineage, the head of family, said: "we have nothing against anybody, we are looking forward to total unity and commitment to develop the Shai State. The era when others portrayed as presidents and leaders of the Shai State, were gone forever and hoped every enstooled chief in the state falls in line as tradition and custom demand"

Nene Wayo called on the Swapulor, Drolo Boso Adamtey I, Dr John Ahwa, and other royals and citizens of Shai State to join the Paramountcy to build new structures to lift the Shai State from the doldrums it found itself some years ago because of the usurpation of the traditional authority by others.

The head of the Ahwa Royal pramountcy expressed gratitude to all sons and daughters, the Shai State in the Diaspora, especially Togo-Aneho, Nigeria, U.S.A and U.K., and called on them to come home to rally round the paramount chief to build the Shai.

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