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The new Juaben Traditional Council in the Eastern Region said the Oheneba Yao Boateng statue was removed for reasons that it was erected without the permission of Professor Omanhene Daasebre Oti Boateng and the Council.
A statement released by New Juaben Traditional Council clerk Maxwell Asante on Wednesday March 26, 2021 said: “At its meeting held at Omanhene Palace, Koforidua on March 19, 2021, the New Juaben Traditional Council Juaben decided to remove the statue of Oheneba Yao Boateng, placed at the main roundabout of Omanhene Palace citing several reasons.
In response, the family of the late Prince Emmanuel Yao Boateng issued a 14-day ultimatum to the New Juaben Traditional Council to either replace the statue that had been mounted for him or face them in court.
The family claim the demolition of the statue was illegal and will therefore use all legitimate processes to seek redress.
But the Traditional Council stated the following reasons for the demolition of the statue:
1. The statue was erected without permission from the Omanhene and the Traditional Council. This is seen as a blatant disrespect for the Omanhene, the occupant of the Yiadom-Hwedie stool and lord of the traditional area of New Juaben as well as the Traditional Council.
2. Oheneba Yao Boateng, who is not a royal of the Yiadom-Hwedie Royal Stool, derives his status as Oheneba from his father, Nana Kwaku Boateng I, who reigned as Omanhene of New Juaben from 1913 to 1930 .
3. One would have expected the children of Oheneba Yao Boateng, who erected the statue, to be diligent and circumspect in first considering their grandfather, Nana Kwaku Boateng I, for the honor rather than for his son and their father.
4. The inscription “Prince Yao Boateng” instead of “Oheneba Yao Boateng” displayed boldly on said statue is also considered very offensive to Akan customary practice and usage. According to the matrifocal analysis of the Akan kinship structure, Oheneba Yao Boateng, whose mother is not an Akan, is also not an Akan. This listing is therefore a dirty trick that Oheneba Yao Boateng belongs to the royal line Yiadom-Hwedie without the relevant blood of inbreeding.
5. On page 5 of the commemorative brochure on Oheneba Yao Boateng’s deceased son, Nana Yao Boateng Junior, dated January 30, 2021, which coincided with the time of the erection of the statue, it is written the following : the paternal and maternal sides of the fracture, Nana Yao was passionate about her heritage ”. This claim of the New Juaben royal line is completely false since, in the Akan kinship structure, the son of an Omanhene is not a royal. Lineage in the Akan kinship system is always drawn from the mother’s side and never from the father’s side as the children of Oheneba Yao Boateng claim.
6. The New Juaben Traditional Council has already reserved the very place to erect the statue of Nana Kwaku Boateng I to commemorate her unique contribution as the Omanhene who built the New Juaben Palace. This decision is not negotiable and cannot be changed under any circumstances.
7. Oheneba Yao Boateng has done nothing tangible to make New Juaben State deserve the erection of his statue in such a vantage point or elsewhere in the traditional area. Also, it is totally wrong of his children to make such a selfish and intimate decision to honor their father without involving the traditional rulers.
8. When Oheneba Yao Boateng’s children were summoned to the Traditional Council on February 5, 2021 for questioning on the matter, they apologized to the Council and agreed to remove the offending statue. The statue has not yet been removed. The children also twice, on March 5 and March 19, 2021, respectively, refused to honor specific requests from the Traditional Council to attend its meetings on the issue.
9. It has now emerged that the children of Oheneba Yao Boateng have produced and widely distributed a video of the offensive statue in the United States of America, United Kingdom and Ghana. The Traditional Council is in possession of a copy of the video which is totally repugnant to the history and sensitivity of the chiefs and people of New Juaben.
This is why, on Friday March 19, 2021, the traditional leadership of the New Juaben State, the New Juaben Traditional Council, unequivocally decided to remove the statue of Oheneba Yao Boateng.
Sign
CLERK
New Juaben Traditional Council
March 26, 2021.
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