The High Court in Nsawam has prohibited the organisers of the Osenase Homecoming from holding the event’s grand durbar, street carnivals and other traditional activities over security concerns linked to a chieftaincy dispute in the community.
Justice Paul Oduro, in a ruling delivered on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, granted an application by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), holding that the planned activities constituted a “special event” under the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491) and required prior notification to the police.
The court ruled that the organisers’ failure to notify the police was unlawful and that the prevailing security concerns in Osenase justified the prohibition order.
The order covers the street carnivals, processions, traditional purification rites and grand durbar scheduled as part of the homecoming between October 12 and 18. The organisers, their agents and anyone acting on their instructions are barred from holding the events unless the applicable legal requirements are met and the municipal ban is lifted.
The IGP had sought the order amid tensions between two rival factions in an ongoing chieftaincy dispute involving Barima Asafo Agyei, who is acting as regent, and Queen Mother Obaapanin Acheampomaa.
According to the police, the West Akim Municipal Security Council imposed a temporary ban on development and social activities organised by either faction on September 7, 2026, because of the security situation.
Despite the ban, the organisers proceeded with plans for a week-long homecoming celebration featuring large public gatherings, a traditional durbar and street carnivals. The police argued that the activities could threaten public peace and safety, particularly given the limited personnel available to manage potential unrest.
The organisers opposed the application, arguing that the homecoming was a community development initiative intended to raise funds to pave local streets and install streetlights. They maintained that its social and charitable purpose exempted it from the police notification requirement under the Public Order Act.
However, Justice Oduro rejected that argument, finding that the advertised programme included traditional and cultural displays, greetings with chiefs and elders, purification rites at a riverside, a grand durbar, a masquerade procession and street jams.
The judge held that the activities fell within the categories of traditional celebrations, carnivals and street dances covered by the law. He ruled that the fundraising objective did not remove the event’s character as a special event requiring advance notification to the police.
The court also considered the municipal security council’s ban and the risk of a breach of the peace arising from the chieftaincy dispute and the planned public gatherings. It weighed the organisers’ right to assemble and pursue community development against the need to protect public safety.
The court clarified that the prohibition does not prevent the organisers from reapplying once the legal requirements are met and the municipal ban is lifted.
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