On this day, we celebrate the Asantehene Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II as he turns 72 years.
Enstooled on 26 April 1999, Osei Tutu II (born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah; 6 May 1950) is the 16th Asantehene. By name, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is in direct succession to the 17th-century founder of the Ashanti Empire, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I. He is also the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is the Grand Patron of the Grand Lodge of Ghana and the Sword Bearer of the United Grand Lodge of England.
20th anniversary celebration
Osei Tutu II’s 20th anniversary commemoration took place on 21 April 2019, at the Dwabirem of the Manhyia Palace. This was at the grand durbar of the Akwasidaekese. Dignitaries like Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Michael Ashwin Satyandre Adhin the vice president of Suriname and Torgbui Sri, the Awomefia of the Anlo state were in attendance. Other dignitaries included Diplomats and royals from Namibia, Kuwait, Germany, China, Morocco, Latvia, Botswana and Palestine. On 19 April 2019,there was a sod cutting ceremony to launch the construction of a hostel at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The next day the sod was cut for some other projects like the GUSS Sports Complex, Beach Soccer Park and Hospital Car Park
Asantehene Recognitions and Acknowledgements
The Asantehene is highly revered in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Osei Tutu has frequently commented on the work of Ghanaian politicians.
He received international media attention after some of the Ashanti crown jewels were allegedly stolen from an Oslo hotel in October 2012 when he was attending a conference in the Norwegian capital.
In August 2019, he celebrated the Akwasidae with the Ghanaian community in the United Kingdom whilst on a short visit there. Dignitaries at the function included Paapa Owusu Ankomah, the Ghana High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
In February 2020, he became the first person to receive the ‘Pillar of Peace Award’. This was in recognition of the effort that he put into restoring peace to the Kingdom of Dagbon which spanned nearly two decades.
He has also received the 2019 CIMG President’s Special Award.
