They Flew Senegal’s Flag At Nkrumah’s Festival: It Was The Least Of The Embarrassments
The story of how NkrumahFest 2026 became a disgrace — and why it matters Somewhere in Ellembelle on the day of NkrumahFest 2026, someone hoisted the flag of Senegal. At a festival named after Kwame Nkrumah. At a festival held in the hometown of the man who led Ghana to independence and spent his life […] The post They Flew Senegal’s Flag At Nkrumah’s Festival: It Was The Least Of The…
On the day of NkrumahFest 2026 in Ellembelle, a festival named after Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah, someone placed the Senegalese flag. This single act encapsulates the fest's overall disarray and lack of organisation, which have marred the event under its current political patron. However, the flag issue was merely the most conspicuous of several significant embarrassments that plagued NkrumahFest 2026.
The man who orchestrated these mishaps was Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, a five-term Member of Parliament for Ellembelle and Minister for Lands and Natural Resources under President Mahama's government. Buah, who has been the festival's patron for years, used the platform to elevate his political standing in the constituency that elected him to five parliamentary terms.
The question is, what did he do with that platform in 2026? He appointed Awulae Blay IX, an individual who is not officially recognised as the Paramount Chief of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Area, as the co-chair of the festival. This man was not even gazetted, not recognised by the National House of Chiefs, and was categorically disqualified under the customary law of the very Paramountcy he claimed.
In the Eastern Nzema Paramountcy, succession is governed by ancient rules that prohibit succession from the same gate as one's own. The appointed Awulae Blay IX is the direct nephew of the gazetted Paramount Chief, from the same gate, and thus, cannot succeed his uncle. His installation is not just unlawful under the Chieftaincy Act, it's invalid under the customs of his own people.
The officially recognised Paramount Chief, Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III, was recently returned to Ghana after self-imposed security exile in the United States following an attempted assassination. He is now home, yet his Palace remains under occupation, the attempted assassination remains uninvestigated, and he is treated as a person of no consequence by Buah and the Mahama administration.
Meanwhile, the NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who should be well-versed in the Chieftaincy Act, has paid multiple visits to Awulae Blay IX, despite their invalid status. If the same Constitution that the NDC National Chairman invokes applies to Tumivolle King Kaku Aka III, it must apply to Awulae Blay IX as well. Kwame Nkrumah's homeland deserves better than this.
NkrumahFest 2026 was not just a political rally, it was an affront to Ghana's dignity, constitutional integrity, and cultural pride. The Senegalese flag that was flown over the festival should have come down long ago, but the underlying constitutional violations and improper chieftaincy arrangements still stand. The people of Eastern Nzema and the chieftaincy institution of Ghana deserve better.
Written by urgent.news from The Chronicle Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
