A court hearing commenced after a renowned 300-year-old kola tree in southern Ghana was felled, with a man facing charges in connection to the incident.
Images of the toppled tree, situated in the town of Feyiase, sparked widespread indignation among Ghanaians on social media.
The ancient tree, tracing its roots to the Ashanti Kingdom in present-day Ghana, possessed believed healing properties and had evolved into a tourist attraction, drawing both Ghanaians and foreigners.
Pleading not guilty to the charge of causing unlawful damage, the man was granted bail.
He has not been named.
According to local legend, the tree flourished at the spot where the revered priest Komfo Anokye spat a kola nut on the ground in the early 1700s.
A significant number of community members held the belief that the black and white seeds of the kola tree possessed the power to cure ailments and lift curses.
Situated in the middle of a major road connecting Ghana’s commercial hub, Kumasi, to Lake Bosomtwe, a national tourist destination, the tree held a central position in the area.
Due to its popularity, the tree was spared during the construction of the highway.
It is not clear why it was cut down now.
The Director of Research at Manhyia Palace, the seat of the Ashanti royal family, Osei-Bonsu Safo Kantanka, informed the BBC on Thursday that the location of the tree held historical significance for the Ashanti Kingdom.
The Battle of Feyiase witnessed the Ashanti people contending for their independence against the formidable kingdom of Denkyira.
Mr. Kantanka stated that the tree’s location was the exact spot where the people of Denkyira were defeated by the Asantes.
Komfo Anokye, the individual attributed to the creation of the tree, was a potent fetish priest—a figure believed to serve as an intermediary between the spirit world and the living.
According to oral tradition, he supposedly buried a sword in the ground, now firmly fixed and unable to be removed, on the grounds of a hospital in Kumasi named after him.
The existence of the tree served as a continual reminder of his achievements.