By Dennis Peprah
Duayaw-Nkwanta, June 03, GNA –The one-week funeral rite of the late Nana Boakye Tromo II, the Paramount Chief of the Duayaw-Nkwanta Traditional Area in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region has been observed at Duayaw-Nkwanta, the municipal capital.
Dr Freda Prempeh, a Minister of State at the Office of the President led a government delegation which included Mr George Yaw Boakye, the Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ernest Kwarteng, the Tano North Municipal Chief Executive, and the Ahafo Regional Executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to the funeral.
According to Nana Boakye Bonsu, the Akwamuhene and the Acting President of the Duayaw-Nkwanta Traditional Council, the late paramount chief died somewhere in 2022 after a short illness.
He reigned for more than 50 years and was one of the longest-serving chiefs in the Ahafo Region before his demise.
Dr Prempeh, also the Member of Parliament for Tano North Constituency said President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo was saddened by the demise of the late Nana Tromo II and assured his government’s support to give the late chief a befitting burial.
Meanwhile, economic activities in the Duayaw-Nkwanta town had halted since the observance of the one-week funeral rites began last Tuesday.
Virtually, all the major shops, stores and the Duayaw-Nkwanta market were closed, as hundreds of mourners from all spheres of life joined the traditional council to mourn the late paramount chief.
During a visit to the town commercial vehicles, including taxis and tricycles (pragyia), means of transport in the area were not operating, leaving some travellers stranded for hours at the Duayaw-Nkwanta lorry station.
The solemn atmosphere in the town was greeted with the singing of dirges by some women from the royal gates, amidst the firing of musketries by traditional warriors, dressed in ancient traditional warring regalia.
Residents, including workers in the formal sector, who were sighted on the street and corners of the Duayaw-Nkwanta town were wearing mostly red and black apparel to signify the mourning of the late chief.
All the basic schools in the area were opened, however, some parents did not allow their children to go to school.
It was a field day for some women traders in the town who capitalize on the funeral observance to cash in by selling red armbands, headgear and other paraphernalia, specially designed to mourn the late chief.
Nana Bonsu, later told the GNA the traditional council was expected to announce the date for the pre-burial funeral rites (Doteyie) of the late paramount chief on Friday, June 2, 2023.
GNA