Agona swedru: Tension is mounting in Agona Swedru as members of the Asafo company have fiercely protested the chiefs and the 2025 Home Coming planning committee's planned entry into a sacred forest to perform rituals.

According to Ghana News Agency, the Asafo Company protested because Agona Swedru currently has no substantive chief following the death of Nana Kobena Botwe II. The company emphasized that the upcoming Home Coming celebration is not a festival but a program aimed at entertaining the youth and uniting the people, and as such, no one opposed the event itself.

Addressing a press conference in Swedru, Nana Kojo Acquah II, the Tufuhene of Agona Swedru, cautioned that the town's customs do not permit entry into the sacred forest for rituals without the presence of a substantive chief. The Home Coming celebration is scheduled to run from August 1 to August 17, 2025, with the planning committee intending to perform rituals on August 13.

The Tufuhene warned that anyone defying the Asafo Company's directive would face consequences, as it is against their customs to enter the forest without the chief, the Tufuhene, two other chiefs, and the Asafo company. Rituals in the sacred forest are traditionally performed only during the town's annual festival to appease ancestors and deities.

Nana Acquah called on the police and other security agencies around Agona Swedru to intervene promptly to prevent potential violence and maintain peace. Nana Ama Adoma, the Asafohemaa of Agona Swedru, reiterated that the Asafo members do not oppose the Home Coming celebration but urged the committee to refrain from performing rituals outside their designated role.

Nana Ama Adoma assured the youth that the Asafo Company supports the Home Coming event and called for collective effort to ensure its success, while emphasizing the importance of upholding customs and traditions. She explained that the sacred forest, owned by four chiefs, should remain untouched until a new chief is installed.

Nana Ama Adoma also appealed to the Agona West Security Council and other traditional leaders to act swiftly to ensure peace and development in the town. Nana Kobena Abbam, the Asafo Baatan of Agona Swedru, mentioned that the planning committee had asked for a budget submission for fencing the sacred shrine, but the Asafo group rejected this, considering the Home Coming an entertainment event rather than a traditional obligation.