Adu Bofo (18? – 1883), an Asante general, was an outstanding military commander who also wielded considerable political power in his capacity as Gyasehene (royal treasurer) and advisor to the Asantehene.
He was the son of Opoku Frefre (q.v), who had himself been Gyasehene. In the 1870s, Adu Bofo was described as “keeper of the keys, treasurer, eventual commander of the army.” As Gyasehene he had a permanent seat on the Kumase council of chiefs, where he exercised considerable influence. For instance, in the last years of his reign, the Asantehene Kofi Kakari (ruled 1867-74) had shown himself willing to permit Christian missionaries to resume work in Asante. After Adu Bofo had vehemently opposed the reintroduction of Christianity at a council meeting held on April 21, 1876, however, Christian activity was rejected, and a Methodist missionary, the Rev. Thomas Picot, who had arrived a few days earlier, had to leave for the coast the same day.
Adu Bofo was one of the military chiefs who advocated the reoccupation of the southern provinces of Asante, and insisted that Asante-British hostility could only end in war. In February 1865 fighting broke out in the southeastern region of what is now Ghana, between Ada on the west bank of the Volta, and Anlo on the east. In February 1866, the British moved troops across the Volta, and after heavy fighting routed the Anlo. As the Anlo and their neighbours the Akwamu were allies of Asante, an Asante army intervened east of the Volta in 1867. In 1868, Adu Bofo, with a force of about 30,000 men, easily reoccupied the trans-Volta provinces, extending from Buem in the north to the southern seaboard. In the course of his operations, the Basel missionaries, F. A. Ramseyer and J. Kühne, who were stationed at Anum, on the east bank of the Volta some 50 mi (80 km) from the coast, as well as the French trader, J. Bonnat, were captured and taken to Kumase. Moreover the British Acting Administrator, W. H. Simpson, who went to Akwamu in March 1869, presumably to detach its people from the Asante cause, was immediately arrested, and would also have been taken to Kumase had not Adu Bofo ordered his release on the grounds he was protected by his official status.
In Asante, Adu Bofo and his adherents ensured that the three Europeans were not released until the British authorities at Cape Coast had paid a sizeable ransom. When, at a council meeting held on February 17, 1872, the Asantehene declared in favour of releasing the prisoners, as requested by the British governor, H. T. Ussher, Adu Bofo opposed him because: (a) the British had behaved badly towards the Asante; (b) they had broken treaties by refusing to return Kwesi Gyani, a runaway chief, to Kumase to stand trial for treason; (c) they had induced such peoples as the Assin, the Ga, the Akyem, and and the and the Akuapem, who had all formerly owed allegiance to the Asante, to join the British Protectorate. He therefore urged Asante to reassert its authority over these southern peoples, and declared he would never allow the prisoners to be set free. In consultation with other councillors, however, Adu Bofo relented, and announced that he was prepared to accept a ransom of 800 peredwan (a peredwan being worth 4 ounces of gold dust), or ￡6,480, for the release of the prisoners. On February 20, 1872, therefore, a message was sent to the British governor at Cape Coast demanding the ransom.
Adu Bofo, who had been urging war against the British, was enthusiastic when news of the transfer of the Dutch settlements to the British, an event which created disturbances along the coast, reached Kumase in 1872. As leader of the “war party” in Kumase, he advocated war against the British to achieve three specific objectives: (a) the reassertion of Asante control over the coast from Elmina westwards to Nzima; (b) to have Asante title to Elmina unambiguously recognized; and (c ) the reincorporation into Asante of of the Twi-speaking states of Akyem, Assin, Denkyera, and Wassa.
By September 1873 the Asante armies, led by Amankwa Tia (q.v), chief of Bantama, had almost completed the reoccupation of the southern provinces and were within five miles of Cape Coast. Meanwhile Adu Bofo, with a force of 4,000 or 5,000 men, was to contain the Denkyera and Wassa further inland, on either bank of the Pra River. Nevertheless, because of political uncertainty, and a growing anti-war sentiment in Asante, the Asante armies had to suspend operations. Adu Bofo’s plans for achieving his three objectives were therefore foiled. After the Sagrenti War of 1873-74, in which Kumase was captured by the British, Adu Bofo was retired. He died of Parkinson’s disease (shaking palsy) in 1883.
J. K. FYNN
