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GHANA/DUTCH OFFICIALSBack
[Published: Friday July 24 2009]

Dutch return head of Ghana king

The Hague, Netherlands, 24 July-(ANA)-Dutch officials have handed back to Ghana the head of a king who was executed by colonists in the 1830s.

Tribal elders led a ceremony in The Hague to hand over the head of Badu Bonsu II, stored in a Dutch museum for 170 years.

The king, who was leader of the Ahanta group, is believed to have been decapitated in retaliation for the killing of two Dutch emissaries.

Some believe the king would not be at rest unless his head was returned.

Several Ghanaian traditional leaders - including a descendant of the king - held an emotional ritual during the handover at the Dutch foreign ministry.

AFP news agency reported that they poured alcohol on the floor of the conference room while invoking the chief's spirit.

"It is because of the injustice meted out to our people that our great king, who was fighting for his people, was murdered," said Nana Kwekwe Darko III, who led the ceremony.

The Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement that King Bonsu had killed two Dutch officials in 1838 and was "handed over by his own nation" to colonialists.

After hearing of the head's location in 2008, Ghana filed a request for its return, saying if it remained unburied, the king would be incomplete and therefore "hunted in the afterlife".

The traditional leaders are due to return to Ghana with the head on Friday. (ANA)

FA/ANA/24 July 2009---

 


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