President joins Asantehene to mourn Bantamahene
The President, John Dramani Mahama, on Thursday joined the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and other dignitaries to bid farewell to the late Bantamahene, Baffour Asare Owusu Amankwatiah V, the war Marshall of the Asantehene.
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The President, together with his brother, Mr Ibrahim Mahama; the Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah; the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr John Alexander
Ackon and other party functionaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) joined the bereaved families to mourn the late chief.
Crowd
A large crowd of people thronged the Bantama palace where the late chief was laid in state to pay their last respects to the fallen hero.
Among them were traditional rulers including the Mamponghene, Dasebere Osei Bonsu II; the Tepahene, Nana Adusei Atwenewa Ampem; the Kumawuhene, Barima Safo Tweneboah Kodua and the Asokore Mamponghene, Nana Boakye Ansah Debrah.
Others were politicians such as the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; the suspended national chairman of the NPP, Mr Paul Afoko; Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Dr Afriyie Akoto and Mr Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional chairman of the NPP.
There was also a large representation from the movie industry with the likes of Rose Mensah popularly known as Kyeiwaa and Mercy Asiedu, who also made their presence felt at the gathering.
Knights of Marshall
Earlier in the morning, there was a large representation from the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, a Catholic friendly society, of which the late chief was a member.
The group was led by the Supreme Knight, Sir Knight Bro. Ernest Amoako-Arhin, to pay their last respects to their deceased brother.
The late chief was a member of Council Three of the Noble Order of the Knights of Marshall and was an honorary Past Grand Knight.
Last respects
As a way of paying respects to the late chief, all shops along the street from the entrance of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital to the end of the road close to the Bantama Market were not opened.
The entire stretch of the road was taken up by mourners who had erected canopies and public address systems and cultural troupe stands where the patrons were treated to good traditional Adowa and Kete dances.
Security
There was heavy presence of police personnel in the area to provide security and also direct traffic due to the temporary closure of the road.
There was a near clash between the ‘machomen’ of the two main political parties at the funeral when the President arrived at the funeral grounds.
It was unclear what the issue was but from afar, one could see that it was a turf war between the two groups as the NDC ‘machomen’ found their voices when the President arrived and they decided to follow him while he greeted the people.
It had to take the intervention of the military details following the President and the jeers from some of the mourners for the confrontation to stop.
