Oguaa Traditional Council cancels 2020 Fetu Afahye

The Oguaa Traditional Council has cancelled the 2020 Oguaa Fetu Afahye which was again set to take place in Cape Coast.

According to the traditional council, this has become necessary following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement sighted by Citi News, it noted that traditional rites and rituals will be performed despite the cancellation.

Speaking to Citi News in an interview, the Tufuhene of Oguaa Traditional Council Nana Kwame Adu VI indicated that the cancellation of the festival has affected activities in Cape Coast.

“Looking at our festival it spans for a period of six weeks and a lot of preparation goes into the celebration of the festival that culminates in the durbar on the first Saturday of September so if we wait till July and the ban is lifted it means that preparation and many other parts of the Afahye have been lost. We met the chiefs and Asafo company decided that we perform the traditional rites whilst the festival is postponed,” Tufuhene Nana Kwame Adu VI said.

According to the Tufuhene, although the impact of the cancellation of the festival has affected indigenes of Cape Coast, the cancellation will help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“It is a big blow because every year those living abroad and people in the diaspora come home to celebrate this festival but we must all know that we are not in normal times,” the Tufuhene added.

He also urged people of Cape Coast to observe all the safety protocols in other to curtail the spread of the virus.

“I would want to use this opportunity to ask the people of Cape Coast to live safe and to observe all the safety protocols. We need everyone alive so we must adhere to them,” Tufuhene Nana Kwame Adu VI said.

The Oguaa Fetu Afahye is celebrated by the people of Cape Coast on the first Saturday in the month of September.

It is also a time where indigenes of Cape Coast from far and near come home to some rich cultural heritage.