Occult man, ritualist, devil reincarnated, Illuminati agent, Lucifer personified.
“Otumfuo has desecrated the Golden Stool.”
“Why stoop so low for such a secret society?”
“Do we know what it means to say you would dress in a Freemason suit? I think it’s a disgrace.”
“Repent and give your life to Christ.”
These were the vile comments, some unprintable, and a few of the avalanche of reactions that rained down on various platforms following the latest public declaration by His Royal Majesty Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II of his deep and unbreakable bond with the Freemasons brotherhood.
Ghanaians had hailed His Royal Majesty, the Asantehene, the consensus ‘King Solomon’ of Ghana, a few days before, with several accolades and an endless list of achievements for his remarkable 25-year reign of the Ashanti Kingdom.
However, his own people were now shouting: “Crucify him”.
Why so, despite freedom of association and a sworn oath to protect, uplift and bring development to Asanteman?
It was after the powerful Freemason organisation came out of its shell from far and near across Africa to honour their Most Worshipful Brother Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Grand Patron of the Grand Lodge of Ghana.
It was an event to pay tribute to his 25-year membership and service to the secret society.
For decades, he has carried the codes, values, and tasks of the society dutifully without flinching; whether rain or shine, he is ever present at masonic meetings like Komfo Anokye at Awukugua amidst the mighty 77 deities of the Ashanti Empire.
For him, the square and compass are as important as ‘Sika Dwa Kofi’, so he never shirked his responsibilities – he would die for both.
To dig up that old cliche, Otumfuo is the mason that every member would want to have next to him when in the trenches.
Adorned in his colourful apron, high-office breast badge, and jewels to complement his masterpiece masonic regalia over a classy piece of exquisite suit, Most Worshipful Brother Otumfuo Osei Tutu II was in his usual intoxicating mix of charisma, wittiness, and grandeur while oozing royalty.
In the presence of the crème de la crème of the brotherhood, he stated his boundless love and commitment to the cause of the men with white aprons wrapped around the waist.
“Twenty-five years ago, I was initiated into Freemasonry. There is no doubt that in joining a society or club, one cannot help but wonder what benefit and restrictions await one”.
“In the case of Freemasonry, you are left to worryingly wonder more without knowing exactly what you are going to face and with no one ready to tell you what you want to know.”
“Whatever doubts or reservations might have crossed my mind, all I can say, after the 25-year period is that I have no regrets on being a Freemason, experiencing what it unfolds and what it means to be called a Freemason”.
It wasn’t the first time that the revered monarch had detailed his activities with the powerful, all-men group, but in an era of technology boom and internet connectivity explosion, his words spread like current through high-tension electric cables, reaching every corner of Ghana.
The age of freedom, the TikTok generation and the social media frenzy meant a field day for every loose cannon to go at the Asante monarch.
His smooth and well-rounded head was now on the chopping board of every anti-Freemason critic and Illuminati conspiracy theorist.
Many Ghanaians may be oblivious that several of Otumfuo’s ancestors were active Freemasons, so he is not the first.
The ‘Brother Otumfuo Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh Freemasons Hall’ at Manhyia, Kumasi, is fully dedicated to Otumfuo’s ancestor, who travelled the same path as Freemasons.
That was the venue for the gathering to pay tribute to Otumfuo, and at the same venue, in his speech, Otumfuo stated:
“My two predecessors on the Golden Stool, Worshipful Brother Sir Agyeman Prempeh II, after whom this temple is named, and my brother, Nana Opoku Ware II, were proud Freemasons”.
In fact, he is unlikely to be the last because future Asantehenes resting in the loins of their fathers, who have yet to strike an egg to emerge into this world, are predestined and have their names already etched in masonic registers.
Freemason insiders in Ghana have revealed a long-standing tradition of family lineage and successions, just like the entry route of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, a Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ghana and Senior Grand Warden of the United Grand Lodge of England.
“Members of my family were in there. Some were there even before I was born. You don’t just walk in there, you are in a way invited. I joined in 1967/68, I think,” he explained in an interview with radio personality Bola Ray. “It is not a secret cult in the wrong sense of secret”.
Hence, Otumfuo’s family members may have an open invitation card that enables the bloodline to join the secret brotherhood at any time in the future.
Otumfuo Prempeh II was elected as the successor of Prempeh I, who died in May 1931 after returning from exile in 1924.
Prempeh II was elected as merely Kumasihene rather than Asantehene.
In 1935, after strenuous efforts on his part, the colonial authorities allowed Prempeh II to assume the title of Asantehene.
The Freemasons Hall at Manhyia stands tall in his honour.
He was succeeded by his nephew Otumfuo Opoku Ware II on 27 July 1970.
Otumfuo Opoku Ware II ruled for 29 years until his death in February 1999.
The incumbent Asantehene refers to Opoku Ware II as “Brother” in the sense of masonic ties, even though the dead king is his maternal uncle and royal predecessor.
Krobo Traditional Area, Azzu Mate Kole II.
From the list above, it may seem that the Asantehene is well in the good company of similar, like-minded upper-class citizens in the current crop of Masons.
In the present era, National Security Minister Albert Kan Dapaah, Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, and Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin are some known Masons.
The list goes on to include Freemason members who have risen to Grand Master levels such as Otwasuom Osae Nyampong VI, Kamenahene of the Akwamu; Naval Captain (rtd.) Kwadjo Adunkwa Butah; and Nana Osei Atwene Bonsu.
Story By The Ghana Report
