Residents of Offuman in the Brong Ahafo region are sitting on tenterhooks as tension climaxes due to chieftaincy 
disagreements.
rawgist.com has learnt reliably that all is set for the final funeral rites of the late Okofo Asiedu Akenten II who one faction holds as chief of the area.
Nana Okofo Akenten who died about two years ago, was 58. The funeral, despite a lot of controversy, is slated for Saturday 25 February, 2017. His corpse has remained in storage since his demise late 2015.
rawgist.com sources fear that supporters of deceased are stockpiling arms and ammunition and warming up to cause panic Saturday during the burial rites of the late “chief”. They have allegedly vowed to bury their deceased as chief of the town by hook or crook.
Queenmother of the area; Nana Akosua Amobea II holds however, that the deceased has not been gazetted, is not a chief and hence should not be buried as a chief. Most of the youth of the town
seem to support the queenmother’s assertion.
The Wenchi Divisional Police commander has intervened several times to calm tempers in the area but his most recent attempt fell on rocks. He brought them together to sign a peace deal he had drafted which asked that the “chief” be buried not as a chief but as the former District Director of Education that he was. The mourning faction however pulled out of the peace accord and have gone ahead to print funeral material stating the Queenmother and other chiefs as mourners; a sign of their resolve to bury him as the chief of the area.
Already they have gone ahead to dig his grave in the royal cemetery, another development that is brewing serious tension in the area. rawgist.com sources say the youth of the town have threatened to seal the grave and prevent the burial of the deceased in the Royal cemetery. They also hold that there is no chief in the town.
The mood in Offuman is that of fear and uncertainty as some members of the community plead for heavier police presence to forestall a potentially violent situation.
Offuman, is not new to chieftaincy disputes as chieftaincy related misunderstandings have persisted since the early 90s till date with occasional violent upsurges. Residents want an end to the situation as they lament these disputes have stalled development of the small town.
