08/08/2026
The Birth of Otumfuo Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II and the Story of the Leopard
Barima Kwame Kyeretwie, later enstooled as the 14th Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II, was born in 1892.
According to a historical account attributed to Yaw Afre and highlighted by Asanteman News, the circumstances surrounding his birth became closely associated with a mysterious leopard that terrorised Kumasi in August 1892.
The story is also linked to the old monument in the central area of Kumasi depicting a man holding a gong-gong while standing on a leopard. The monument is believed to commemorate the remarkable events surrounding the capture of the animal and the birth of the future Asantehene.
According to the account, gong-beaters announced to the residents of the traditional 77 wards of Kumasi that a dangerous leopard, known as ɔsebɔ, had entered the city and was terrorising the people.
Nana Kwaku Dua III, who was then Asantehene, reportedly summoned his warriors and experienced hunters and gave them a clear instruction: capture the leopard alive.
While the search for the animal was underway, Nana Abakoma of Edweso Besease, a princess and granddaughter of Asantehemaa Nana Afua Kobi I and the wife of Nana Kwaku Owusu, was heavily pregnant and about to give birth.
The hunters eventually succeeded in capturing the leopard alive at Dominase, a ward of Kumasi. However, before it was captured, the animal had reportedly killed two people and wounded five others.
According to the narrative, shortly after the warriors announced the successful capture of the leopard to the Asantehene, the mmagyegyefuo, the royal nannies, arrived with another important announcement: Nana Abakoma had given birth to a royal baby at Edweso.
Upon hearing the news, Nana Kwaku Dua III was said to have been delighted. He reportedly named the newborn Barima Kwame Kyeretwie, meaning “the one who catches the leopard”, in reference to the extraordinary events that had taken place.
A special kente design was also reportedly created to commemorate the remarkable coincidence between the capture of the leopard and the birth of the royal child.
Years later, Barima Kwame Kyeretwie would ascend the Golden Stool as the 14th Asantehene, taking the stool name Otumfuo Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II.
Thus, the story of the leopard became part of the historical memory surrounding the birth of one of Asante’s most significant kings, whose life and reign would become deeply connected with the history of the Asante Kingdom in the twentieth century.
