KNUST lecturer arrested for allegedly posing as Juaben chief

Dr. Cosmos Asante, a 63-year-old lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has been remanded by the Kumawu Circuit Court for allegedly posing as the chief of Adumasa in Ghana's Ashanti Region.

Asante is charged under Section 63 of the Chieftaincy Act, 2008, for performing the functions of a chief without being qualified. Prosecutors allege that following the death of the former chief, Nana Yaw Oppong, Asante and the Aduana clan resisted the installation of the legitimate chief, Nana Kwabena Yiadom.

On October 13, 2026, Asante was reportedly enstooled by the Aduana family and paraded through the streets of Adumasa. The dispute escalated into a standoff involving the refusal to allow the legitimate chief into the palace and an incident where stones were thrown at police officers, injuring two. Asante was arrested on campus at KNUST on October 28, 2026, to prevent further communal violence. He is scheduled to reappear in court on November 5, 2026.