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A man suspected of having cut down the Okomfo Anokye historic tree has denied his involvement in felling the 300-year-old tree.
The tree, planted centuries ago, holds historical significance to the Asante Kingdom and serves medicinal purposes for residents living close to the sacred tree.
The man, who is yet to be identified, pleaded not guilty to the Atasemanso court in Kumasi after he was picked up by the police on Wednesday.
He was thus granted GH₵20,000 in bail as a surety.
Information gathered by Uniquenewsgh News says one person has been arrested regarding the Feyiase Cola Nut tree, which was planted by the chief priest, Okomfo Anokye, of the Ashanti Kingdom.
In a telephone interview with the linguist of Feyiase Palace, Nana Frimpong, he believes the suspect is currently at Asokwa Divisional Police Command.
According to the information given to him by the police, upon interrogation by the police, the suspect revealed that they are three people contracted with an amount of Ghs5,000 to conduct such an operation.
Currently, the two other suspects and the person who contracted them have not been arrested yet.
Nana Frimpong added that “now we have logged an official complaint to Mahyia Palace regarding the incident “.
The Feyiase Akoyem Traditional Council and the police have joined forces in search of persons believed to have fallen from the historic cola tree planted by Asante’s revered chief priest, Okomfo Anokye.
The tree, planted centuries ago, holds historical significance to the Asante Kingdom and serves medicinal purposes for residents living close to the sacred tree.
Known as the Okomfo Anokye Bese, the Feyiase cola tree is believed to have been felled in the middle of the night by unknown perpetrators.
The tree now lies lifeless, with its stump seated deeply in the middle of the Kumasi Atonsu-Lake Bosomtwe road.
For years, this special tree, which produced unique black and white nuts, was not only walled to prevent intruders but also protected by residents of Feyiase Akoyem, a historic Ashanti community in the Bosomtwe District.
The linguist for the Feyiase Akoyem Traditional Council, Kyeme Frimpong, said, “This tree wasn’t even cut down when they were constructing the dual carriage road. So we don’t know why someone would do this to us.” “This is really unfortunate.
This could really spell doom for us and also for the person who felled the tree,” he added. Planted 300 years ago, the cola tree is believed to have grown after the revered chief priest, Okomfo Anokye, spat on the ground while chewing cola nuts while traveling through the community. The sacred tree is believed to contain magical powers to cure barrenness and heal people of all kinds of ailments and spiritual curses. Traditional authorities and police have joined forces in search of the illegal loggers, whose actions, they say, could spell doom for Asanteman.
The Feyiase community holds some of Asante’s historic events, including their battle with the Denkyiras in the 17th century.
By uniquenewsgh.com
