Koforidua High Court Grants GH¢500,000 Bail to Man Accused of Forging Documents to Claim Chieftaincy

The Koforidua High Court 3 has granted bail of GH¢500,000 to Nana Asare Duodu Gyimah III, also known as Kwadwo Gyimah, who faces charges of possessing and using forged documents in an alleged attempt to be enstooled and gazetted as the chief of Akyem Ayirebi in the Eastern Region.

The court on Monday, June 1, 2026, admitted the accused to bail with two sureties, each required to possess a valid Ghana Card. Nana Asare Duodu Gyimah III pleaded not guilty to two charges: possessing forged documents and uttering forged documents.

According to the charge sheet, the accused allegedly possessed a forged statutory declaration purportedly made by the late Abusuapanin Kofi Kumi, Head of the Bretuo Royal Family, dated November 3, 2023. Prosecutors contend the document could not have been genuine because Kofi Kumi had died on July 13, 2023 – several months before the date on the declaration – and his body was at the morgue at the time it was allegedly thumbprinted.

The second charge alleges that the accused used the same fraudulent statutory declaration to support his enstoolment as chief of Ayirebi at Akyem Oda, despite knowing the document was not authentic.

The complainant, Professor Nana Owusu-Frimpong, a native of Akyem Ayirebi and a principal member of the Bretuo Royal Family, told the court that the Ayirebi stool became vacant following the death of Obrempong Gyapire Agyekum II in 2017. After consultations, the Queen Mother of Ayirebi, Nana Adwoa Adomakoa II, nominated Kwadwo Asante as chief on September 29, 2019.

Following approval by the kingmakers and traditional authorities, Kwadwo Asante was installed as chief on May 5, 2021, and currently holds the black stool and other traditional regalia of the town.

However, the complainant alleges that Kwadwo Gyimah subsequently installed himself as chief between March and May 2022 and was later sworn in at Oda without following the established customary processes required for selecting a chief in Ayirebi.

Prosecutors say that while litigation over the stool was ongoing, Gyimah submitted documents – including the disputed statutory declaration – to support his application for gazettement through the traditional council. The complainant argues the document also falsely stated that the black stool was in Gyimah’s possession, whereas it remains with Kwadwo Asante, now known as Obrempong Gyapire Asante III.

The case has been adjourned to June 15, 2026, for case management proceedings.

Image Source: STARR FM