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Display of rich Ghanaian culture, tradition at Ada Asafotufiami
Naana Kabukuor Domaaley Dagojo I,
Queen of Kabiawe Clan
The glamour and thrills of the rich, unique and elegant Ghanaian culture and traditions were in full display last weekend as thousands thronged to Ada to witness the Asafotufiami festival
The week-long festival which began on August 4 to 9 at Ada in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region is one of the biggest events in the region.
The festival had over the years become popular, attracting thousands of tourists who were usually entertained by the traditions and cultural activities on display.
This year’s festival, the 86th edition held under the theme, “Honouring our heroes, revamping natural resources and unlocking tourism potential,” was nothing short of the usual spectacle.
Among dignitaries attracted to the festival, were the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Greater Accra Minister, Henry Quartey, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Sarah Dugbakie Pobie and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the McDan Group, Dr Daniel McKorley.
The festival also attracted foreigners who took part in several activities led by vibrant youth groups and associations within Ada and beyond. The festival started on Wednesday, August 2 with the usual “homecoming” activities prior to the weekend as natives both home and abroad trooped to the host town, Big Ada where all the activities were held.
The activities commenced with a welcoming float on Thursday, August 3 which ushered in all individuals and groups who came to the town to celebrate the festival they held in high esteem. The float began from Big Ada through neighbouring towns including Kasserh, Sege, Ada Foah and ended at the starting point where the youth jammed until the break of dawn.
The clans include, Adibiawe, Lomobiawe, Terkperbiawe, Dangmebiawe, Kabiaweyumu, Kabiawetsu, Kabiakpono, Kudragbe, Ohuewem and Korgbor.
The clans took turns to pour libations and sought the permission of the ancestors heading into the week-long activities. After the last clan, usually Dangmebiawe had performed their rituals, they returned to a river in Big Ada where everyone including visitors washed their feet as a form of cleansing with the belief that the river would carry away their burdens and transgressions and give them renewed hope of prosperity into
By Michael D. Abayateye
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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