King's head returned to Ghana after 170 yrs

27/7/09

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru

AFTER 170 years in “detention” in The Netherlands, the head of Nana Badu Bonsu II, who was executed by the Dutch colonialists in the 1830s, was brought to Ghana on Friday.
The head of the 18th century Ahanta king was stored in formaldehyde in the Leiden University Medical Centre for 170 years. A picture of the head shows that all the features — flesh, ears, nose, eyes, mouth and hair — are intact.
Dutch officials released the head to Ghana following negotiations between them and their Ghanaian counterparts.
A KLM flight carrying a family delegation, led by Nana Etsin Kofi II, the chief of Ahanta Aboadi, and the head of Nana Bonsu in a casket covered with black cloth with a red cloth around it touched down at the Kotoka International Airport at 7:04 p.m. on Friday.
They were met on arrival by the Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Alexander Asum-Ahensah.
Upon their arrival, Nana Kweku Darko III, the chief of Kajebil, performed libation prayer at the airport and invoked the spirits of Nana Bonsu and other ancestors of the Ahanta Traditional Area.
Tracing the circumstances leading to the execution of the king, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nana Bonsu was enthroned during the era of the Dutch colonial occupation of the Coast of Guinea, including the Western Region of present-day Ghana.
It was alleged that the king ambushed and killed many Dutch soldiers in an exchange of hostilities. According to the statement signed by the Assistant Director of the Information and Linguistics Bureau of the ministry, Mr Kwadwo Boateng, the Dutch despatched a punitive expedition to arrest Nana Bonsu, who was eventually court-martialled, found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
It said the Dutch executed the penalty in June 1838, after which his head was severed and taken to The Netherlands.
Nana Kofi told the Daily Graphic that the king was killed because of his “bravery and fight against injustice”.
“I am very happy that at long last the remains of the great King of Ahanta who was captured and brutally killed and taken away will now have final rest in line with the country’s tradition,” was how he summed up his joy.
“I am sad that such a king who wanted to prevent injustice had been treated that way,” he lamented.
Nana Kofi said the chiefs and people of the Ahanta Traditional Area would give a befitting burial to Nana Bonsu after consultations with the government.
Mr Asum-Ahensah said the government was glad that the Dutch officials had finally released the remains of the great king.
He said the body would be kept at the 37 Military Hospital mortuary until such a time that the family would be ready for the funeral arrangement.