Mahama Recounts Childhood Ties with Asantehene: “They Used to Send Us for Ice Cream”
Former President John Dramani Mahama has shared a touching recollection of his childhood friendship with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, highlighting a bond that stretches back decades to their days growing up in Ringway Estates, Osu.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Asantehene to the Jubilee House on Monday, June 2, Mahama offered a rare and personal glimpse into his early years, revealing how the paths of future national leaders once crossed as children in a quiet Accra neighborhood.
“I was a little boy growing up in Ringway Estates, Osu, and my father’s house was directly opposite Nana Aduhene’s house,” Mahama recalled. “Nana Aduhene’s children—Kojo Botsuo, Kwame Nkrumah, and others—were our friends.”
He added that notable political figures Ato Ahwoi and Kwame Ahwoi were also familiar faces in the neighborhood, visiting during school holidays as part of Nana Aduhene’s extended family.
“There was another of Nana’s children who used to spend holidays with them. We called him ‘Kweku Kweku.’ It turned out he was Otumfuo,” Mahama said with a smile.
He reminisced fondly about the days when the older children would send the younger ones on errands.
“They were a bit older than us, so they used to send us to buy ice cream and all kinds of things for them.”
A Surprise at the Stool
Mahama recounted his astonishment years later upon learning that his childhood acquaintance, “Kweku Kweku,” had ascended the Golden Stool as Asantehene, following the passing of Otumfuo Opoku Ware II.
“When I became a minister and heard they were enstooling the next Otumfuo, I said, ‘But this is Aduhene’s boy—he’s from Sefwi. How does he become the paramount chief of the Ashantis?’”
He later learned that Otumfuo’s path to leadership had been carefully shaped from an early age.
“Apparently, his uncle sent him to be groomed as a king. That’s why he used to come to Ringway on holidays—because the Omanhene was looking after him.”
A Relationship Rooted in Time
Mahama concluded by emphasizing that his relationship with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is built not on politics or protocol, but on a foundation of shared childhood experiences and lasting mutual respect.
“Our relationship goes back to when I was a child,” he said simply.
Credit: Emmanuel Tetteh
