By: Belinda Nketia
Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the guard of honor parade in his honor organized by the Ghana Police service on Jan. 6, 2026 has said Ghana’s path to lasting peace depends on collaboration between traditional authority and modern law enforcement.
He disputed the notion that the two institutions compete for relevance saying, “Our visit today sends a powerful national message: Tradition and modern law enforcements are not rivals struggling for relevance but are collaborators safeguarding the same future,”.
Otumfuo noted that before formal policing systems emerged, Ghanaian communities relied on customs, elders and shared values to regulate behavior, resolve disputes and preserve harmony.
“No society can outsource morality entirely to the state and expect peace,” he said. “If law alone can save society, then countries with the thickest law books will have no prisons and problems at all.”
He explained that culture shapes conduct long before crime takes root, while law restrains behavior when social values fail. When culture collapses, he said, law enforcement is forced to compensate beyond its limits.
According to the Asantehene, policing functions best where citizens already believe in protecting one another, and where officers are viewed as partners rather than adversaries.
He called for structured cooperation between chiefs and the police, particularly through community policing, mediation and early engagement. “Dialogue should precede deployment and mediation should come before confrontation”, he added.
Otumfuo also said respect between traditional authority and the police deepens cooperation, stabilizes communities and removes safe spaces for criminal activity.
Traditional authorities remain influential actors in community governance across Ghana. They provide leadership, mediation and culturally grounded mechanisms for resolving disputes at the local level. The Ghana Police Service, as the state’s principal law enforcement agency, complements these efforts by maintaining internal security, preventing crime and enforcing the law nationwide.
