Murder In The Palace At Kibi

MURDER IN THE PALACE – A TRUE STORY

“…Stories are told of stools being blackened with human blood, but there seems to be no authenticated record of this. This is not because chiefs and elders have been reticent about the matter because of shame in admitting to barbaric or gruesome customs, since it is freely and openly admitted that in the past many people were killed when an important chief died, to act as servants and companions in the next world. Many of the victims were slaves, criminals or prisoners of war. Before they were executed, their cheeks and tongue were pierced with a sharp knife the sepow – to prevent them from cursing the chief or swearing the Great Oath which would compel their release. But it would seem that some people – widows or people of high rank – would offer themselves as companions to the dead chief. This was regarded as a noble act, and such faithful followers would be strangled – possibly after having been drugged – and not mutilated in any way. The British insisted, in their earliest treaties with the people of the Gold Coast that human sacrifice should cease, although even now, on the death of a great chief, there are rumors about people disappearing, and strangers from distant tribes make it a point to avoid lonely spots late at night during the funeral rites. It is also openly admitted that the skulls and limb bones of the victims of such sacrifices were used to decorate the state drums – indeed, such drums still exists in the regalia of many Akan states, although they seem nowadays to be kept in the background, as being in rather ‘poor taste’.

As for the use of human blood for anointing the stools, in some states this is categorically denied, whilst in others it is said that a small amount of living man’s blood is mixed with the blood of the sheep or dog, but whether this is the original custom or a token substitute for human sacrifice, it is hard to say. There are also historical instances of human sacrifices over state stools, as, for example, in the early 19th century when the ‘Nkoranzahene’ was captured in battle and sacrificed over the black stools of ‘Techiman’, but this does not relate to the first blackening of the stool of a recently deceased chief…”

Murder in the Palace is a true stroy of the Kibi Ritual Murder case. This case became a sensation not only because of the brilliant police work but also the deft and ingenuity of both the defence and prosecution lawyers invovled.

Alex A. Nuamah
alexnuamah@yahoo.com/
alexnuamah2014@gmail.com