APALOO C.J.: (Delivering the ruling of the court): The plaintiff alleges that she is the queenmother of Effiduasi, Ashanti. It is in that right that she brought this action. Her present status has been challenged in the pleadings. She accordingly sought and obtained leave to amend her capacity as “a citizen of Ghana hailing from Ashanti Mampong Traditional Area”. In the view that we take of this case, it is not necessary to pronounce on her right to bring this suit.
The first defendant is the paramount chief of Mampong, Ashanti. This is a traditional office of great importance and the holder of such office is held in high esteem by his subjects and strangers alike. But he cannot come by this office unless he has been “nominated, elected and installed in accordance with customary law and usage.” Such pre-eminence does the institution of chieftaincy enjoy in our traditional set-up, that it is expressly guaranteed by the Constitution, 1979, art. 177. It is also copiously regulated by legi…