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Alban Bagbin installed Chief in Suma
Speaker Bagbin(third left) on his way to the installation
The Suma Traditional Council (STC) at Suma in the Bono Region on Saturday installed the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin as a chief with the stool name Nana Adosorkorhene I.
The Speaker’s installation was to recognise his show of strength against western powers in the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities in the country.
It would be recalled that in July this year the Suma Traditional Council also awarded the Highest Order of the Suma State Adinkra award to Mr Bagbin for his advocacy on the anti- LGBTQ+ bill.
The colourful coronation was preceded by initiation rites performed behind closed doors before the coronation at the forecourt of the Suma Palace.
Mr Bagbin arrived at the Palace adorned in a beautiful smock and accompanied by his wife, Minority Caucus in Parliament, staff of the Parliamentary service board and other dignitaries.
Also in attendance were a delegation from the clergy made up of members of the Pentecostal Council, local council of churches led by the Bishop of Sunyani Diocese, Mathew Kwasi Gyamfi.
The occasion was to climax a week-long crusade organised by the STC for God’s blessings and protection on the Suma State under the theme “Who the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
The Omanhene of the area, His Royal Majesty Odeneho Dr Affram Brempong III said Ghana’s culture was under threat and all effort must be made to preserve the culture, values and traditions of the Ghanaian society against any abominable indoctrination.
He said the Parliament of Ghana must pass the human and sexual rights and family values Bill 2021 into law to safeguard the moral fabric of the Ghanaian society.
The paramount chief explained that the Adosorkohene title given to Mr Bagbin means a tower of strength derived from the Suna deity which protected their ancestors against their enemies during wars and that people associate with Mr Bagbin of his resolve to ensure that Parliament pass the bill into law.
The Speaker of Parliament on his part expressed his excitement and delight for the honour bestowed on him by the chiefs and people of Suma.
His coronation, he said, was not for him alone but for the institutions of Parliament and Ghana as a whole.
He assured that Parliament will do the right thing to ensure that the LGBTQ+ bill was passed into law, adding that the cost of LGBTQ+ activities on the health system of the country cannot be borne by the state.
Mr Bagbin explained that countries promoting homosexuality were facing the brunt of it, stressing that Ghana will not be intimidated to tolerate such a bad culture.
He said his recent call for a change in the governance structure of the country to allow chiefs, religious bodies and the media was aimed at strengthening the democratic culture of the country.
He commended the chiefs and people of Suma for preserving their rich culture which he said had stood the test of time and called for peace and unity among traditional authorities in the country.
From Daniel Dzirasah, Suma Ahenkro
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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
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