Ahanta West MP Calls for DNA Test to Settle Dispute Over King Badu Bonsoe II’s Remains

As Ahanta marks the seven-day Go Ahanta Heritage Month, Ahanta West MP Mavis Kuukua Bissue is pushing for a DNA test to end a long-running dispute over the remains of legendary king Nana Badu Bonsoe II.

Several families are claiming lineage to the revered 19th-century ruler and seeking custody of his remains, a feud that has stalled the installation of a substantive successor to the historic Ahanta stool.

Nana Badu Bonsoe II is remembered for his fierce resistance to Dutch colonial rule. He clashed with the Dutch over trade and interference in Ahanta affairs, openly challenging their authority. “They wanted to know why he was such a powerful person, and why he was able to fight many on his own,” Mrs. Bissue told the media.

His defiance cost him his life. In 1838, the Dutch captured and beheaded him at Busua. His head was taken to the Netherlands and held in a museum for over 170 years.

The Netherlands repatriated the head to Ghana in July 2009 after years of diplomatic talks. But the return sparked fresh controversy. Multiple royal families in Ahanta claimed him as their ancestor, triggering legal battles over who had the right to receive and bury the remains. The dispute landed in court and the remains have since been kept at 37 Military Hospital.

Mrs. Bissue said colonial disruption wiped out key family records, fueling confusion. “Somehow, the whites cleaned his family history and wiped it in such a way that when he decides to come back, the family would not be able to put themselves together.”

Access to the remains was restricted after families tried to claim the head, leading to tensions. “There are a few families that are claiming that he came from their lineage… Then there was a court order that nobody should come again because they were fighting,” she said.

The MP disclosed that the ban has now been lifted after talks involving the Ministry of Defence and the Presidency. “I’ve been able to push as a Member of Parliament through the Ministry of Defence to the Presidency to make sure that the order is lifted. I only got the information last night.”

Even with access restored, Mrs. Bissue fears the core dispute will persist if the remains are released without clarity on lineage. “I am pushing for a DNA. Because even if we allow it to go home, we are still going to have issues.”

She wants DNA tests done between the families making claims. “So I’m pushing for a DNA to be conducted between the families who are claiming that he belongs to them, so that once we discover the true family, then the President can actually release the head to them.”

Hon. Bissue believes scientific verification could cut through competing oral histories and traditions, allow a dignified burial, end years of litigation, and help resolve the wider chieftaincy succession impasse.