Two Suspects Arrested in Alleged Assassination Plot Against Akyem Kwabeng Chief
The Eastern South Regional Police Command has arrested two individuals accused of plotting to assassinate Daasebre Ayimadu Kantamanto II, Chief of Akyem Kwabeng and Gyasehene of the Akyem Abuakwa State, ahead of his first Royal Durbar on October 17, 2025.
The arrests on October 12, 2025, followed intelligence on October 11 indicating a conspiracy to eliminate the Chief during the event.
Acting on the tip-off, a team from the Regional Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) infiltrated the group, leading to the detention of Emelia Akua Asor, 47, and Butuakwa Seth, 48.
According to police, Asor offered undercover officers GH¢50,000 to carry out the hit on both the Chief and the newly installed Queen Mother of Akyem Kwabeng. Seth allegedly accompanied the officers to identify the targets, providing a photograph of the Chief and guiding them to the palace and residence. The suspects promised an additional GH¢50,000 upon completion.
Both are in custody assisting investigations, with police vowing a thorough probe to uncover accomplices. The case has heightened security around the Durbar, a key cultural event in the Eastern Region.
The plot underscores ongoing chieftaincy tensions in Akyem Abuakwa, echoing a 2019 resident protest against Okyehene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin over the Kwabeng stool’s succession. Historical disputes, including a 2002 Supreme Court ruling on rotational rights among three royal families, have fueled rivalries, but authorities dismissed links to past violence like the 2017 Operation Vanguard denial of miner killings in the area.
