Bekai Royal Family of Akwamufie Warns against Paradise in Africa Project

The Bekai Royal Family of Akwamufie in Eastern Region has cautioned foreign investors against the illegal acquisition of stool lands in the traditional area.

The warning by the Bekai Royal Family comes after their attention was drawn to a project dubbed “Paradise in Africa” being advertised by destooled Sub-Queen Mother in Akwamufie, Nana Yaa Asaa Safoa II.

According to the Bekai family they don’t know the project and have not leased any land for same.

Nana Yaa Asaa Safoa II, allegedly enstooled by the Bekai Family as Asomanyawahemea of Akwamu, has been advertising to investors across the world to invest in 426 hectares of land earmarked for the first phase of the “Paradise in Africa” project in Akwamu traditional area.

She claimed to have sealed a local land use plan approval at a meeting between the land & project owners and Asuogyaman District Assembly in 2019.

She added in a post on Facebook dedicated to the project that “the full Assembly was gathered alongside the project planners and the Bekai Royal Family Senior Representatives. We thank the DCE and the Assembly for assessing the plan and signing off on them. We now move into the next stages of the project”.

In April 2019, the embattled queen mother brought some potential development partners from the UK, Canada, and Gabon to the site which includes the Volta gorge along the Volta River and the Akwamufie community.

However, the Akwamu Traditional council says, it will resist any investor /developer who steps foot to develop any parcel of Akwamu stool lands without proper acquisition.

The Bekai Royal Family has also denied knowledge of the project.

The Elderly Woman of the Family (Abrewatia) Obaapayin Akosua Nyama Botwe told the media that, the family has not leased any stool land for any project.

“She has been properly destooled and no longer recognized as Queen mother. The land does not belong to her. It is a stool land which she has no authority over it so anyone who purchases the said land from her has purchased stolen land”.

The spokesperson for the Bekai family, Fred Aboagye Danquah said, Nana Asaa Safoa II known in private life as Adelaide Duncan Onabanjo has no title deeds to the stool lands, therefore, has no right to engage investors on behalf of the family.

“She has been legally destooled by the family because the family performed all the rituals to show that she has been destooled so if she goes around and says she is the occupant of Nana Bekai stool it is not true. I emphasize that she has been destooled. Before anybody can claim any portion of Nana Bekai’s stool land that person should get permission from the Abrewatia and Akyimpim as signatories of those documents before that person can claim that he is the owner of the land. What she is doing is illegal. The reason why I am saying is illegal is that she has been destooled by the family” He said.

Nana Yaa Saa Safoa II declined to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, several attempts to speak to the District Chief Executive for Asuogyaman, Samuel Agyekum were unsuccessful.