A deepening chieftaincy feud in Kwahu, one of Ghana’s most symbolic traditional areas, has erupted into a full-blown security crisis – one that now involves an alleged palace raid, gunfire at dawn, and the dramatic abduction and release of the Queen Mother.
A Dawn Raid That Sent Shockwaves Through Abene
In the early hours of Monday, November 17, 2025, residents of Abene, the traditional capital of Kwahu, woke to the sound of gunshots. According to eyewitness accounts, heavily armed men, some reportedly dressed in police uniforms, stormed the Abene palace around 4:30 am.
The intruders created chaos inside the palace complex. When the dust settled, palace elders realized that the Queen Mother, Nana Adwoa Gyemfua, was missing. She had allegedly been seized and taken away by the armed group.
Her disappearance deepened public anxiety in a community already strained by months of tension.
Police Move In — and the Queen Mother Is Released
Hours after news of the incident broke, the Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, ordered an immediate security response. Police deployed heavily across Abene, and the Queen Mother was soon released.
The IGP has since directed the Police Professional Standards Bureau to investigate the circumstances of the dawn operation particularly reports of men wearing police uniforms and to sanction any officers implicated. Security has been tightened across the enclave as investigators piece together what happened.
The Roots of the Conflict: A Stool in Dispute
The dramatic raid is the latest and most alarming escalation in a long-running dispute over the Kwahu paramount stool, one of the most revered traditional positions in Ghana.
The rivalry pits two main factions against each other:
- Supporters of
Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, who was destooled in 2024 - Supporters of Baffour Akoto Osei, who assumed the stool name Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng III
Both claim rightful authority. Both insist the courts back them. And for months, the legal battles have ricocheted between the Kwahu Traditional Council, the National House of Chiefs, and now the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs.
Most recently, an interlocutory injunction restrained Baffour Akoto Osei from presenting himself as the Omanhene while the case continues. The ruling, however, has not settled the political and emotional struggle over the seat.
A Town on Edge
In recent months, Kwahu has felt increasingly unstable. Reports of armed “land guards” patrolling parts of the town have amplified public fear. National Security had already advised 24-hour surveillance ahead of the Homowo and festival seasons.
Residents say the atmosphere has become unpredictable — a fragile calm punctuated by periodic confrontations, warnings, and threats of violence.
The abduction and release of the Queen Mother has forced national authorities to confront what locals say has been building for years: a dangerously polarized traditional area with legal, political, and security threads tightly knotted together.
For now, Kwahu is heavily policed. Elders are calling for restraint. And the courts are still working toward a final ruling on who occupies the paramount stool.
But as the events of Monday showed, this is more than a legal dispute, it is a test of authority, legitimacy, and identity for one of Ghana’s most storied mountain kingdoms.
