Manhyia reacts to illegal felling of Komfo Anokye’s 300-year-old kola tree

Photos of the felled tree as circulated on social media | File photo

Manhyia Palace, seat of the Ashanti royal family, has reacted to the cutting down, by yet-to-be identified persons, of a kola tree with strong historical significance to the Ashanti Kingdom.

The director of research at the palace, Osei-Bonsu Safo Kantanka, told the BBC the site of the tree was significant in the history of the Kingdom.

Reports emerged from Feyiase that the said tree, believed to be over 300 years had been felled with photos of the cut tree flooding social media amid outrage especially as those behind it remained unknown.

The town was venue of the Battle of Feyiase, which centuries back saw the Ashanti people battling for their independence against the powerful kingdom of Denkyira.

Mr Kantanka told the BBC that the location of the tree “was the same spot the people of Denkyira were defeated by the Asantes”.

Manhunt for perpetrators

The BBC report added that authorities have launched a manhunt for the people who cut down the tree, which some say has healing powers having grown from a spot where the famous fetsih priest Komfo Anokye spat a kola seed.

Komfo Anokye was a powerful fetish priest – a person believed to act as a mediator between the spirit and living.

The tree dates back to the Ashanti Kingdom, part of modern-day Ghana.

Many local people believed the black and white seeds of the kola tree could cure ailments and curses.

The tree was in the middle of a major road linking Ghana’s commercial hub Kumasi to Lake Bosomtwe.
With additional files from BBC Africa