WHEN A CHIEF OVERSTEPS HIS BOUNDS

The Story Is Not Only Bizarre, It Is Scandalous. Information From
Ejisu Bisease in the Ashanti Region Indicates That the Chief of The
Town, Nana Akwasi Acheampong, Has Incurred the Wrath of Teachers In
the Town, Following a Severe Beating He Allegedly Inflicted on A
Teacher, on What May Be a Trumped-Up Charge.

An Accra daily newspaper reported yesterday that Mr. Francis Carter, a
French teacher of the local Municipal Assembly Junior High School,
took some friends to a drinking spot in town. While the teacher and
his guests were taking it easy, a man appeared and claimed that he
could smell the scent of marijuana, known in local parlance as 'wee'.

He unilaterally conducted a search on the teacher and his guests.
According to information available, he marched the teacher to the
chief's palace, even though no marijuana was found on him (the teacher).

At the palace, the poor teacher was tied down with a rope, while the
chief administered corporal punishment on him. Mr. Carter was said to
have been seriously injured in the process.

Like teachers at Bisease, who are voting with their feet, The
Chronicle is equally baffled by how a teacher could be marched to the
chief's palace for the traditional ruler to assault him. We are
inviting the police to be interested in this matter.

The chief cannot constitute himself into an investigative agency, a
court and the prison service, all in one. We are told that apparently,
no narcotic drug was found on the teacher or his guests.

This episode tells a lot about a traditional ruler who has arrogated
powers way beyond himself. In the first place, the chief and his man,
who is the messenger in this instance, have no authority under the sun
to subject the teacher to any bodily check. If the teacher was
suspected of doing anything suspicious, the lawful authority to deal
with him is the police.

Under the laws of Ghana, the police have the power of investigation to
establish whether or not an offence has been committed. When the
offence has been established, the police then apply to the courts for
the establishment of guilt or otherwise.

No chief has the authority to deal with matters bordering on crime,
let alone the administering of corporal punishment. Nana Acheampong
has to be reported to the police for the law to deal with him.

The fact that he is the chief of the town does not confer the powers
of the police and the courts in him. Let him concern himself with
leading his people to develop his area of authority.

In the interim, The Chronicle is appealing to teachers in the area,
who have abandoned the classroom, to kindly return in the interest of
the kids under their care. We do not believe the sins of the chief
should be visited on the poor children