Hot!
Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam enstools new queen
The Chiefs and people of Ajumako Techiman Traditional Area in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District of the Central Region have enstooled Nana Hembaa Nyamaah Awortwi I, new queen of the area.
Known in private life as Khardijatu Nuhu Mahama Kamargatey Peschel, the 51-year-old nurse, becomes the first to formally sit on the stool as queen from TwidanAfokurasi.
She was taken through the principal streets in a palanquin alongside Tufuhene, Nana Agyei Yeboah and Safohene Kwame Afedzi and was formally out-doored at a durbar of chiefs and people in the AjumakoTechiman Traditional Area.
In an interview with journalists after the durbar, Nana Nyamaah Awortwi I, said she would focus on addressing developmental challenges in the area and the Central Region in general.
She mentioned sanitation, teenage pregnancy and promotion of vocational and technical education as some of the issues she would focus on.
On sanitation, she said it would be her desire to see it inculcated in children at the basic school level to enable them to appreciate environmental cleanliness.
Nana Nyamaah Awortwi I, noted that a clean environment could help reduce some of the commonly known diseases in the community and drastically reduce OPD attendance.
She called for the adoption of proactive measures towards reversing the rate of teenage pregnancy in the region, saying, “the narrative that the Central Region is among the regions with high teenage pregnancy must change.”
The queen explained the importance of vocational and technical education and how this could help in the development of the area, saying that, “technical and vocational education continue to play critical roles in the economy of developed countries”.
She, therefore, urged the residents to embrace vocational and technical education due to its critical role in the socio-economic transformation of the country.
She explained that technical and vocational education should not be seen as an avenue for a certain category of people noting that the area was a specialised field which required the nation’s best brains and said that the developed countries were able to achieve their current status due to their focus on technical and vocational education.
She admonished parents to make education of their children a priority and identify the potentials of their children but not force them into courses they were not interested in.
The queen further called on residents in the area to make peace and unity a cornerstone in their dealings with one another.
The 51-year-old woman and mother of two had her secondary education at the Damongo Secondary School in the Savannah Region and went for further studies in Germany. She is currently a practising nurse in the United Kingdom.
From David O. Yarboi-Tetteh, Ajumako
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
