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Court dismisses suit against celebration of Kundum festival
• Nana Egya Kwamina XI
A Sekondi High Court last Thursday, dismissed a suit filed by a party to prevent the Apremdo Divisional Stool from celebrating its annual Kundum festival, stressing that the case was purely a chieftaincy matter.
The judgement of the court, presided over by Justice (Mrs) Hannah Taylor, has now paved the way for the Divisional Chief of Apremdo, Nana Egya Kwamina XI, also known as William Eghan, to celebrate same.
It, however, did not award any cost against the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs, Obaahema Kwandoh Kuma and Nana Nware Ezia II, had filed an injunction notice against the defendants (Kobina Burafo, William Eghan and Ernestina Brenya), seeking among others to restrain the three from celebrating the Kundum Festival, until the performance of the funeral rites of the late Chief, Nana Nyankeh Brem.
They again sought a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from celebrating the Kundum Festival until the determination of an appeal pending before the Western Regional House of Chiefs at Sekondi.
Plaintiffs claimed that, in accordance with the custom and tradition of the people of Apremdo, the defendants could not celebrate the Kundum festival without having in their possession, the Royal Black Stool, and without performing the funeral rites of the late Chief.
They further pleaded that the 1st and 3rd defendants, contrary to the Apremdo customary practices, installed the 2nd and 3rd defendants as the new Chief and Queenmother of Apremdo respectively.
However, the 1st and 2nd defendants denied the claims of the plaintiffs as being a Queenmother and Regent of Apremdo, contending that, by a decision of the Judicial Committee, the plaintiffs were not the Queenmother and Regent of Apremdo and, therefore, had no capacity to initiate the action.
Additionally, they argued that they were lawfully nominated, elected, confined and installed as the Chief and Queenmother of Apremdo, in accordance with the customs and traditions and duly gazetted with stool names, Nana Egya Kwamina XI and Nana Mozu respectively.
In her ruling, Justice Taylor said “Having considered the claims of the plaintiffs and the evidence largely, the case is a disguised cause or matter affecting chieftaincy and the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs are hereby dismissed. The third defendant’s counter claim is also dismissed.”
She again ruled that, “the plaintiff’s failure to call the custodian of customs and traditions of Ahanta land as to who sets the timetable and restrictions thereto of the celebration of the Kundum festival leads to the conclusion that they failed to discharge the burden so placed on them.”
The judge added that, “the reliefs sought by plaintiffs are so linked to the possession of the black stool which is key to the installation of a chief and that they contended in this case that, same is in their possession.”
The judge also referred to Obaahemaa Kwandoh Kuma’s answer to a question on whether William Eghan’s name had been entered in the register of Western Regional House of Chief as Divisional Chief of Apremdo with stool name Nana Egya Kwamina XI and admitted that the case had not been determined yet as no court had set the gazette publication aside.
From Clement Adzei Boye, Sekondi
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NHIA set to boost its cybersecurity and IT Infrastructure
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), in partnership with a leading private cybersecurity solutions provider in Ghana, CyberHawk Limited, is advancing the Authority’s digital infrastructure to ensure seamless operations.
This is to safeguard the Authority’s digital technologies and maintain the trust of active members of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
In this context, the NHIA Management Information System (MIS) Directorate in the Head Office, on February 11, 2024, launched a three-day brainstorming session on the organization’s cybersecurity enhancement agenda.
The MIS Directorate Ag. Director, Mr. Daniel Blankson explained that the collaborative meeting aimed to scrutinize the NHIA’s Information Technology architecture, identifying potential risks and gapsto enhance its cybersecurity posture.
“By leveraging CyberHawk Limited’s expertise, the NHIA seeks to fortify its defenses against cyber threats, protecting sensitive information and maintaining the trust of its members.”
Mr. Blankson applauded the synergy between the two organizations and underscored the Authority’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to drive its mission forward.
The Head of Information Security and Standards Unit, in the MIS Directorate, Mr. Ebenezer Hooper, highlighted the Authority’s significant milestone on the digital transformation journey.
According to him, the NHIA is actively engaged in fully adopting and implementing modern digital systems to improve its operations.
He said, “The three-day brainstorming meeting will culminate in the development of a robust IT infrastructure, as well as strategic plans to translate security implementations into tangible IT cost savings for the organization.”
“There is the need to form a steering committee or IT advisory committee, operated under the Board, so that they can pay more attention in protecting the huge IT investment while ensuring cyber security-related policies are well protected,” he added.
The Project Manager of CyberHawk Limited, Mr. Chetan Narayana Murthy, lauded the collaboration and anticipated that it would empower the NHIA to implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures.
According to him, “This is a huge project that will greatly benefit the NHIA by implementing robust cybersecurity measures, safeguarding their systems, and ultimately protecting the sensitive information of NHIA members and healthcare providers.”
A Senior Manager of IT infrastructure, Mr. David Asare Addo, and his colleague, a Senior Manager of Applications, Mr. Enock Afanyi, with the MIS Directorate, gave an overview of the NHIA’s current technological landscape.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the Claims, Membership and Regional Operations (MRO), Research, Policy, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RPME), Corporate Affairs, the Audit, Administration, and Human Resource Directorates.
Story By : Vivian Arthur
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
