<u>Dr. Poku Adusei JA</u>
The instant application prays the court for an order to set aside customary arbitration award delivered by the Asanteman Council on 20th October 2022. The basis for the application is that the said customary arbitration award was a nullity in that the award sought to set aside a ruling of the Supreme Court dated 9th February 1987 which allowed the two families of Bompata (i.e., Kwankyewa Bede family and Atwea @ Ataa Tire family) to continue as the royals of the Amantena Stool of Bompata. For the applicant, the Asanteman Council lacked the requisite power to re-litigate matters already adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court and for that matter the said award was a nullity.
In support of the application, the applicant has attached copies of the decisions of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Committee of National House of Chiefs and the Judicial Committee of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs as exhibits KA1, KA2 and KA3, respectively. The applicant has also tendered the proceedings of the Asanteman Traditional Council which included the impugned arbitration award as exhibit KA4.
The respondent on his part opposed the instant application. The crux of his opposition was that it was the applicant, as head of family, who invoked the Great Oath of Asantehene to prevent the installation of a new Queenmother for the Bompata Traditional Area. He contended that the invocation of the Great Oath of Asantehene demanded that Otumfuo caused arbitration proceedings to be instituted for that matter. For him, it was only Otumfuo who had the authority to decide on matters raised by the invocation of the Great Oath of Asantehene. The respondent contended further that the applicant and his family fully consented to and participated in the arbitration proceedings before the arbitral award was rendered on 20th October 2022. He added that the applicant’s family accepted the arbitral award and even presented ‘dibim’ to Asantehene.
Arbitration proceedings between parties
From the applicant’s exhibit KA4 proceedings before the Asanteman Traditional Council, it appears the decisions of the various bodies of adjudication within the chieftaincy institutions did not settle the chieftaincy disputes in Bompata. The ruling of the Supreme Court dated 9th February 1987 in the case of Agaykoma v. Opuni & Others [1987-88] 1 GLR 47 merely deferred to the concurrent decisions of the Judicial Committees of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs
