Tension is rising in the Kwahu Abene traditional area after the Queen Mother, Nana Adwoa Gyamfua III, was taken away in a dawn operation that palace officials have described as an abduction.
The incident happened around 4:30am on Monday when armed officers stormed the Abene Palace area. Residents say the team arrived in several vehicles, fired shots and arrested a number of people who were later moved to unknown locations. It was after the raid that members of the palace noticed that the Queen Mother was missing and could not be accounted for.
The Paramount Chief raised an alarm, insisting that the Queen Mother had been forcibly taken away. He also claimed that the regional police commander denied knowledge of the operation and that the raid may have been influenced by a rival claimant to the stool.
A few hours after the palace’s accusation, the Kwahu Traditional Council issued a statement rejecting claims of an abduction. The Council said the incident was connected to the enforcement of an interlocutory injunction issued by the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs in June 2024.
That injunction barred the Queen Mother and several others from performing functions or interfering with matters relating to the Abene Palace. According to the Council, the operation was a lawful intervention to maintain order, and it insisted that the Queen Mother did not reside at the palace at the time of the raid.
Later on Monday, the Inspector General of Police ordered the immediate release of Nana Adwoa Gyamfua III and directed the Police Professional Standards Bureau to begin a full investigation into how the operation was conducted. Security has since been increased in the area.
The Queen Mother has now returned safely to Kwahu Abene, but questions remain about who authorised the raid, why it unfolded the way it did, and what triggered the sudden enforcement action.
The backdrop to the incident is a long-running chieftaincy dispute in the Kwahu area. A legal battle between the current Paramount Chief, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng III, and his destooled predecessor, Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, has created deep divisions.
The injunction at the centre of this incident is part of that broader dispute, which has been before the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs for more than a year.
What began as a dawn operation has now become a major test of policing, traditional authority and rule of law in Kwahu. The police investigation is expected to determine whether the raid followed due process and whether the Queen Mother’s removal was justified under the injunction. Until then, tensions remain high and residents continue to demand clarity about what actually happened in the early hours of Monday morning.
