The Koforidua High Court has granted bail to Nana Asare Duodu Gyimah III, also known as Kwadwo Gyimah, who is facing trial over allegations of using forged documents in an attempt to secure enstoolment and gazettement as chief of Akyem Ayirebi in the Eastern Region.
The court on Monday admitted the accused to bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 with two sureties, each required to possess a valid Ghana Card.
Nana Asare Duodu Gyimah III pleaded not guilty to two charges: possession of forged documents and uttering forged documents.
According to prosecutors, 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.
The prosecution contends that the document could not have been authentic because Abusuapanin Kofi Kumi had died on July 13, 2023, several months before the date on the declaration, and was therefore incapable of making or thumb-printing the document.
The accused is further alleged to have relied on the same declaration to support his enstoolment as chief of Ayirebi at Akyem Oda, despite allegedly knowing that the document was fraudulent.
The complainant, Prof. 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.
Court documents indicate that after consultations, the Queen Mother of Ayirebi, Nana Adwoa Adomakoa II, nominated Kwadwo Asante for the stool on September 29, 2019. Following approval by kingmakers and traditional authorities, he was installed as chief on May 5, 2021, and is said to be in possession of the black stool and other traditional regalia of the town.
However, the complainant alleges that Kwadwo Gyimah independently installed himself as chief between March and May 2022 and was later sworn in at Akyem Oda without following the customary processes governing the selection of a chief in Ayirebi.
The prosecution further alleges that while litigation over the stool was ongoing, Kwadwo Gyimah submitted documents through the traditional council to support an application for gazettement. Among the documents was the disputed statutory declaration purportedly thumb-printed by the late Abusuapanin Kofi Kumi on November 3, 2023.
Prosecutors also claim that the declaration falsely stated that the black stool was in the possession of Kwadwo Gyimah, 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.
