Ashantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is the king of Asanteman
The Ashantehene Stool Lands Secretariat has reportedly been accused of land fraud by a Kumasi-based private legal practitioner, Edwin Poku.
According to a report by theheraldghana.com, the lawyer accused the secretariat of colluding with the Lands Commission in Kumasi to illegally appropriate lands belonging to Ghanaians, which are subsequently redistributed to foreign interests.
The report indicated that Edwin Poku made these claims during cross-examination at the Kumasi High Court, where he is representing himself in a civil suit brought against him by four of his first cousins – Yvonne Appiah Poku, Ida Gisela Osei, Eleanor Opoku, and Hanetta Hayford – over ownership of a prime land property located at Adum, Kumasi, which he bought from executors of his late father’s estate.
He accused the Asantehene’s secretariat and Lands Commission officials of dishonest dealings, including the allocation of lands – such as the contested Adum property – to individuals with questionable claims.
He claimed that the scheme operated by the secretariat and the commission has led to several Ghanaians losing their lands, which are secretly assigned to foreigners.
He said the actions of operatives of the two bodies are “illegal and must stop.”
Edwin Poku told the court that the commission altered documents related to the disputed land in an effort to strip him of legal ownership, claiming that the Title Deeds covering the property in question were riddled with cancellations and suspicious amendments.
He accused the Lands Commission in Kumasi of a fraudulent attempt to overreach him, stating that the documents tendered in court by the witness had been tampered with and backdated.
The lawyer also challenged the claim of subpoenaed witness Augustine Obeng Gyasi, a senior officer at the Lands Commission, who testified that state lands in the area were different from lands held by traditional authorities.
“Mr Obeng Gyasi maintained that a distinction exists between state-acquired lands and vested lands, asserting that about 400 acres were released by the government to the Golden Stool for specific purposes, such as residential and hospitality developments. He also acknowledged that Kumasi town lands, also known as Part I Lands, are held in trust by the government on behalf of the Golden Stool,” part of The Herald report reads.
Edwin Poku claimed that historical leases from 1920 to 1974 did not refer to the Golden Stool as a trustee, adding that recent documents – including Exhibit B8, which states that the Lands Commission holds Kumasi land in trust for the Golden Stool – were forgeries produced using modern technology and backdated.
“You can’t have a computer printout from 1974. That technology didn’t even exist in Ghana at that time,” Mr Poku argued.
The case was reportedly adjourned to November 2025.
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