The protracted paramount chieftaincy dispute at Mepe Traditional Area in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region has come to an end following the finally judgement declared by a four-member panel of judges of Judicial Committee of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs (VRHC) in favour of Gli Royal Family of Mepe Akorvie-Divisional Clan.
The unanimous verdict was delivered by the four-panel members of VRHC on the Mepe Royal Paramount Stool Chieftaincy case on Thursday December 19, 2024, amidst a wild jubilation of chiefs, queen-mothers and people of Mepe who described the judgment as a new historical day for Mepe.
The final judgment by the House has legally reaffirmed the traditional chieftaincy status of Togbe Awuku Anipati V of Gli Royal family as a newly installed Paramount Chief of Mepe to succeed the late substantive paramount chief, Togbega Kwao Anipati IV, who died in 2005 after reigning on the throne for 19 years.
Addressing some senior journalists to give his victory speech, the joyful Togbega Awuku Anipati V expressed his profound appreciation to the four panel members of the judicial committee of the VRHC for showing their professionalism in giving judgment in favour of Gli Royal Family which situation has brought peace and unity to the people of Mepe.
“I have to take this opportunity to send my congratilatory message to all the stakeholders and citizens of Mepe, particularly my senior brother, Mr Micheal Awuku Agbodegbator for having a courage to get me through all the stages of my problems in regard to my installation as the next Paramount Chief of Mepe.
“I would like to give thank to my senior brother, Mr Micheal Awuku Agbodegbator. I am so grateful to him for supporting me through and that his support has given me an assurance that without an elderly person among you, we the members of Gli Royal family of Mepe can’t succeed in this case.
“I am also grateful to those who in diverse ways
helped me through this stage and also make me financially sound to pursue this case to its logical conclusion. I am also want to give a lot of praise to the four member-panel of the judges of the VRHC for declaring the judgment in our favour,” Togbega Awuku Anipati V stated.
The Paramount Chief described the victory as
a major one for all of the people or citizens of Mepe Traditional Area, saying “this landmark victory is not the one for me alone and that it is a victory for all of us so we have to celebrate it since it is going to bring the needed social and infrastructure development to Mepe.”
He stated that he and his Gli famly have won the victory for Mepe and called for all the citizens of Mepe to lent their unflinching support to him to succeed at the Paramountcy that has been devided by the current principal Anipati Royal Paramount Stool father, Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor.
He blamed Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor for being the main architect of fueling this Mepe Royal Paramount Chieftaincy dispute.
For the past 15 to 19 years now, he started that Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor has made Mepe a no go area for Chieftaincy, saying that he could not understand why Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor who installed him as the next Paramount Chief of Mepe would leave him to go to install Ernest Kwabla Morkli as another Paramount Chief of Mepe from the Adzesu family.
According to the Paramount Chief of Mepe, the court has finally decided that the two persons can’t sit on one throne and could not fathom why Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor will install someone and later he would go back to install another person to ascend the same throne.
“And that the court stated that this practice of Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor would not be allowed because the Chieftaincy is not for only Stool father and that the Chieftaincy is a committee which works on it. So Togbe Tsidi Akuffu alone can’t claim that he is the only person to choose another person to be installed as the next Paramount Chief of Mepe,” the Chief told journalists.
“So when we went through the trial of the case at the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, we were all told by the court that Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor was completely wronged of exhibiting such m
behaviour,” Togbega Awuku Anipati V revealed.
Togbega Awuku Anipati V stated that he and his Gli famly have won the victory for Mepe and called on all the citizens to lent their unflinching support to him at the Paramountcy that has been devided by Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor.
“So l must state that the judgment declared in his favour was a victory for us of us. In the historical fact of Mepe, there is only one Chief at the Paramountcy and that since we were born and nurtured in Mepe, nobody has never heard of two Paramount Chiefs of Mepe. So as is it now as we have atrained this resounding victory from the landmark Chieftaincy case, the evidence are clear that the people of Mepe are now settled to grow.
“The people of Mepe made several okes or crack many jokes over certain things but the citizens of Mepe ddoesn’t joke with their chieftaincy matters. They have only one Paramount Chief and the Paramountcy now has come one and we all have to celebrate this resounding victory,” Togbega Awuku Anipati stressed.
Answering question as to whether he is ready to work with the current Stool ffather, Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor after he emerged victorious, the Paramount Chief noted that he has forgiven everybody who has offended him.
“I am such a person who would take things to the highest level that l wouldn’t allow the rope to break because of me during my time as a Paramount chief of Mepe and that l am ever ready to work with everybody or support everybody in Mepe. I am calling all the people from my opposition factions to bury their differences to come to join me at the Paramountcy to make the Mepe to grow,” Togbega Awuku Anipati V spoke peacefully.
He added that “l have forgiven everybody who
had offended me, l am a peace-loving person, saying that l would not allow myself to be used by any past event, my focus is that l want the progress and prosperity of Mepe and that is what exactly l wish for all of us in Mepe.”
He reiterated that “all those who have offered me in any way, l have forgiven them,” saying that, “l would not use it as a yardstick to measure anybody and that l have strongly prayed that nobody would use that things to judge me.”
Currently, according to Togbega Awuku Anipati V, Mepe Traditional Area has been granted the position of Mepe Traditional Council and that “this is the first time the installation of a chief who has become a representative for the national level for Mepe.
He said he would become a member of Volta Regional House of Chiefs and that “l have prayed that all the citizens of Mepe would lent their unflinching support to me for this victory.
Speaking on what happened before he was sent to the court, Togbega Awuku Anipati V noted that the procees started after the death of the late subtantative Paramount Chief of Mepe Togbega Kwao Anipati IV in the year 2009 through to 2011 when the hands laid on him to become the next Paramount Chief of Mepe.
According to Togbega Awuku Anipati V, the accredited elders and kings makers of the Anipati Royal Paramount Stool of Akorvie-Diviosional Clan of Mepe had went through the rightful traditional and customary processes of his installation and afterwards some groups of people have started agitating that he is not the rightful person to ascend Anipati Royal Paramount.
Togbega Awuku Anipati V mentioned that the protest against his installation as the next Paramount Chief of Mepe was made by the people from the Adzesu family who had called themselves as a gate of Mepe Akorvie-Diviosional Clan.
Following this agitation, according to Togbega Awuku Anipati V, the Adzesu Gate/family of Mepe installed one Ernest Kwabla Morkli as a new Paramount Chief of Mepe to ascend the throne
of Anipati Paramount Royal Stool who were rivalling him (Togbega Awuku Anipati V) at the Mepe Royal Paramountcy.
“We the members of Gli Royal family gate have applied for me to be gazetted into the book of the National Register of chiefs and that the members of the Adzesu gate/family which were our rival brought a case against us (Gli Royal family) at the Volta Regional House of Chiefs that they (Adzesu family) had installed a new Paramount Chief who was the most permanent one to ascend the throne of Anipati Royal Paramount Stool of Mepe.
He pointed out that the Mepe Royal Paramount Chieftaincy litigation started about two years ago.
He added that hat the members of Adzesu family have dragged him and Gli Royal family to the judiciary committee of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, claiming that they are the rightful people to become next Paramount Chief of Mepe and that they have also installed Mr Ernest Kwabla Morkli as a rival Paramount Chief to ascend the Anipati black Stool of Mepe.
According to him, they have went through the case at the Volta Regional House of Chiefs and eventually the Judicial Committee of the House in their unanimous decision declared a judgment in favour of Gli Royal family.
He stressed that the VRHC’s judgment confirmed that the members of Adzesu family were not the rightful people to install the Paramount Chief to ascend Togbega Anipati Royal Paramount stool of Mepe.
During the trial of the case in the court, Togbega Awuku Anipati revealed that members of Adzesu have peddled many lies to support their case but the court didn’t accept their lies.
He stated that it is a historical fact that the members of the Adzesu family had never become the Paramount of Mepe before.
Articulating on how the chiefs were installed to ascend the Mepe Royal Paramount Stool, Togbega Awuku Anipati V explained that the first Paramount Chief of Mepe started from King Akorlor, and then followed by his grandfather, King Kwamedze Anipati II.
According to him, the third Paramount Chief of Mepe was his biological father in the person of Togbega Anipati III, explaining that the fourth Paramount Chief of Mepe Traditional Area was Dr Kwao Anipati IV.
“So l have become the fifth Paramount Chief of Mepe who has gone through all the necessary traditional and customary lawful processes for which the Anipati Principal Stool father, Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor was very person who performed the necessary rituals to endorse my Chieftaincy status.
He pointed out that I did not fight for my installation as the Paramount Chief of Mepe,saying that l was arrested by the elders of Anipati Royal Paramount Stool to be installed as a new Paramount Chief of Mepe.
“I went through the necessary processes and that everything was cleared by the Manklalo of the Mepe Traditional Area, Togbe Korsi Nego IV, who was designated to install the new Paramount Chief of Mepe. I have went through the processes and l was successfully. I was installed by current principal and accredited Anipati Royal Paramount Stool father, Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor.
He pointed out that in the double standard situation, Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor has gone to join the members of Adzesu family after he had finally performed all the rightful and necessary rituals to install me (Togbega Awuku Anipati V) as the next Paramount Chief of Mepe.
“Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor has initiated every necessary processes of my installation from the selection. Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor who held my hands and handed over to Manklalo of the Mepe Traditional Area, Togbe Korsi Nego IV, but l din’t know what came over Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor and he departed from us and go to join the members of Adzesu family to engage this unlawful act.
“I was shocked and disappointed to hear from
Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor to boldly start that he has ordered for the members of Adzesu family to also install Ernest Kwabla Morkli as the next Paramount Chief of Mepe against me from Gli gate,” Togbega Awuku Anipati revealed.
He reiterated that when they went to the arbitration at the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, it has came out that “l was the rightful person to ascend the throne of Anipati Royal Paramount Stool of Mepe.”
Accordingly to him, it was Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor has signed every necessary documents which were used as a traditional and customary legal backing to install him as the new Paramount Chief of Mepe.
He indicated that Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor has written a letter to the Ghana Education Service (GES) “at my work place in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region to seek or ask for permission that they would come for me to be installed as the next Paramount Chief of Mepe.”
He added that Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor
wrote a letter to the Volta Regional Police Commander and District Regional Police Commander of the Ghana Police Service to inform the police administration that they are going to install me and that the police administration should deployed personnel to come and provide security for his installation.
“So l didn’t know what came over Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor and he has decided to leave me and go to install another rival Paramount Chief of Mepe,” the chief stated.
“So when we went to the Court at the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, God so good, on Thursday December 19, 2024, the four panels of the judges at the court came out to declare judgment that the Adzesu family wasn’t the rightful people to occupy the Anipati Royal Paramount Stool but the Gli gate is the rightful people to ascend the throne,” Togbega Awuku Anipati stated.
Mincing no words, Togbega Awuku Anipati V
expressed disappointment in the Paramount Queenmother of Mepe Traditional Area, Mamaga Adzo Sreku IV for supporting the members of Adzesu family against him and his Gli Royal family.
“They were telling many lies in court during the trial of this Chieftaincy dispute case and shockingly to us, the Paramount Queenmother, Mamaga Adzo Sreku IV has strongly supported the members of Adzesu family who have been peddling many lies in court that they were rightful people to install the next Paramount Chief of Mepe.
“But the court with its wisdom has declared judgment against the case of the members of Adzesu family and Mamaga Adzo Sreku IV,” Togbega Awuku Anipati V told journalists in his victory speech.
“So l have been declared in court in the Volta Regional capital, Ho on Thursday December 19, 2024 that l am still remain the right person to ascend Anipati Royal Paramountcy or Stool of Mepe.
“However, since we have atrained this victory from the landmark Chieftaincy case, the evidence are clear that the people of Mepe are now settled to grow. The people of Mepe made several normal jokes or cracked jokes over certain things but the citizens of Mepe didn’t jokes for their chieftaincy matters. They have only one Paramount Chief and the Paramountcy now has become one and we all have to celebrate a victory as such.
On the question on why he is ready to work with the current Stool father Togbe Tsidi Akuffu Akorlor after he emerged victorious, the Paramount Chief responded that he has forgiven everybody who has offered him in a different diverse ways.
“I am such a person who would take things to the highest level that l wouldn’t allow the rope to break because of me during my time as a Paramount chief of Mepe and that l am ever ready to support everybody in Mepe,” Togbega Awuku Anipati V spoke peacefully.
He added that “l have forgiven everybody who had offered me, saying that l would not allowed myself to be used by any past event, l want the progress and prosperity of Mepe and that what l wish for all of us in Mepe.
He stressed that “all those who have offered me in any other way, l have forgiven them,” saying that l would not use it as a yardstick to measure anybody and that l strongly pray that nobody would use that things to judge me.”
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