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Asanteman Association of Washington DC metro enstools new chief
Mr. Frank Acheampong, a Washington DC-based business magnate, was last Saturday, enstooled as the Asantefuohene of Washington, DC Metro Area under the stool name Barima Owoahene Owusu Acheampong.
There was a colourful display of Asante Culture with Asante Chiefs from various parts of the United States in attendance.
Barima Owusu Acheampong takes over from Nana Nyarko Ampem Darko who completed his term as the Asantefuohene of Washington DC Metro Area.
The new chief and his team of traditional leaders swore the oath of allegiance before the Council of Elders of the Asanteman Association of Washington Metro Area.
The ‘Omanhene of Virginia’ welcoming
the Ambassador to the eventThe Asantefuohene (left) and Asantefuohemaa
(2nd left) of Denver at the event to supportNananom at the event 
Ambassador Alima Mahama
dancing to traditional kete drums
The members of the Council of Elders present were Nana Nyarko Ampem Darko (the immediate past Asantefuohene), Abusuapanin Frank Fofie, Otafrebuo Agyenim Boateng Pedie I (the Bogyawehene & Amoafo Akwamuhene, who once served as Asantefuohene for 12 years), Nana Owusu Kwandahor (Amoafo Manwerehene), Nana Baffuor Awuah, Nana Kwasi Mensah, Mr. Kwasi Agyeman, Nana Serwaa Brakatu and Nana Afia Buor.
Clad in traditional black cloth (kuntunkuni), as per Asante tradition, all the new traditional leaders were introduced to the Council of Elders and other traditional leaders in the community including Nana Obuor Gyau (Adumhene of Bechem Traditional Area) and Nana Tentia Kwaasi (Kokofu Nkagyaamuhene).
Nana Adusi Pokuaa the Asantefuohemaa (Queen) of the Washington DC Metro Area selected Nana Owusu Acheampong as the successor to Nana Nyarko Ampem Darko before he was introduced to the leaders of Asanteman Association of Washington DC Metro Area and accepted to lead the Association as Asantefuohene.
Nana Yaw Amankwah Pam would serve as his Kontihene with Nana Kwadwo Afriyie Agyemang as Gyasehene, Nana Kosuaa Asantewaa Kontomene as Kontihemaa and Nana Yaa Yeboah as Gyasehemaa.
The Ghana Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Alima Mahama (Hajia) graced the occasion with some members of staff of the Embassy of Ghana in the persons of Ninette Danquah Ivo, Cynthia Djokoto, Janet Maku Koranteng and Karim Kudayah. Also with the entourage was Mr. Mohammed Idris, a respected community leader in the Washington, DC Metro Area.
In his welcome address, Mr. Golash Opoku-Akyeampong Adadey, the President of Asanteman Association for the past seven years, expressed his appreciation to Otumfuo Osei-Tutu, the Asantehene, for giving them the privilege and opportunity to exercise the first step process to project the traditions and culture of Asanteman in the diaspora.
He appreciated the members of the Association for standing with him through his tenure and supporting many health and education initiatives and development projects in Asanteman.
President Golash Adadey said that the Association had resolved to honour Her Excellency Alima Mahama (Hajia) as a life Patron of the Asanteman Association of Washington DC Metro Area for her untiring efforts in reaching out to Ghanaians since she assumed office.
Ambassador Hajia Alima Mahama in her speech admonished the Ghanaian Community to unite to make a meaningful impact in their various communities and urged them to take advantage of investment opportunities in Ghana.
She further advised Ghanaians in the diaspora to support the building of the National Cathedral in Ghana for Ghana to have a befitting monument where national events could be held rather than the forecourt of the State House or Independence Square.
Ambassador Alima Mahama asked Ghanaians in the United States to register with the Embassy in Washington DC to enable them to be recognised and given the needed support.
Benita Biney, the 12-year-old traditional dance prodigy, entertained the gathering with her traditional dancing skills which swept the Ambassador and her staff off their feet to join.
After the traditional swearing-in ceremony, the newly enstooled traditional leaders changed their clothing from Black “kuntukuni” to black and white to signify celebration and the dawn of a new era.
Ambassador Alima presented $500 and assorted drinks as a token to the Asanteman Association. The presentation was made on her behalf by George Kwasi Bright.
The Asanteman Association will in due course seek the blessing and permission of Otumfuo, the Asante King for Nana Owusu Acheampong to swear the final oath of allegiance to one of Otumfuo’s paramount chiefs at a high-level traditional ceremony.
From George Kwasi Bright, Washington DC, USA
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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