"For Carles Puigdemont it will be very difficult to govern Catalonia from abroad." Ghanaian Céphas Kosi Bansah, also known as King Bansah, knows what he's talking about. He speaks from experience, and his has led him to be king of the Ewe in Ghana despite living in Ludwigshafen (West Germany). He is a monarch who reigns from a distance - from a workshop in Ludwigshafen, a German city that has an important port on the Rhine - over what is the third ethnic group in Ghana.
About 380,000 Ghanaians are his subjects, which represents almost 14% of the population of the African country. Ghana is a presidential republic with a reputation for being one of the most stable democracies on the black continent. In addition, the country has tribal figures such as King Bansah, someone who is expected to "help solve the problems of the people in their day-to-day life," the monarch tells EL ESPAÑOL. For him, distances are not a problem.
His help King Bansah lends to his people mainly from Germany. New technologies are essential for this. That is why it is said that King Bansah looks after the welfare of his subjects via Skype. "Today it is very easy to be in contact with people," says the monarch, who prefers not to mention that Internet calling service. In his routine, there are many hours on the phone, emails and any other means of communication.
His kingship outside of Ewe territory, in fact, owes much to the Fax. The use of these devices in Ewe lands helped to persuade in his day – long before the democratization of the Internet – those who doubted that Céphas Kosi Bansah could carry out his day-to-day life as a monarch from Germany.
From his house, King Bansah has been interested these days in the Catalan crisis. "I have followed the situation through the media," says this 69-year-old man. As the leader of the ewe from a distance, his situation resembles the best of imaginable scenarios for the independentistas of Catalonia. Above all, in view of the fact that Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) and ERC want to present Carles Puigdemont as a candidate for president.
Cephas Bensah, of the Ewe people of Ghana, has 380,000 E.E. subjects.
This, despite the fact that Puigdemont is a fugitive from the Spanish Justice and that a remote investiture from Brussels does not have the protection of the law, according to the recently presented legal report of the Parliament's lawyers. Puigdemont is accused of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement of public funds.
According to King Bansah, Puigdemont is going to have "very difficult to carry out his tasks at the parliamentary, judicial, budgetary, etc. level" from abroad. "A presence [in Parliament] can only be replaced to a limited extent through modern means of telecommunication," underlines King Bansah. He, in his living room, has two large carved wooden thrones. One for his wife and one for him. Two flags appear from his, that of Germany and that of Ghana. His crown rests on a piece of furniture near the throne of the monarch.
Since his reign began a little over a quarter of a century ago, King Bansah has had an interesting record of service. “What is asked of me is to make my town better. That is why I take care of the construction of educational centers, medical centers or bridges so that farmers or children who go to school do not have to cross rivers with the danger of being overwhelmed by the waters”, explains King Bansah.
The former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont.Francois LenoirReuters
One of the latest projects in which he has contributed is the construction of a prison for women and adolescents, whose opening is scheduled for next February. "Until now there were men, women and children in the police cells, which could lead to attacks," says the leader of the Ewe, who is currently also in charge of financing the treatment and care of various patients who require care in Ghana.
An exotic African celebrity in Helmut Kohl
To finance these initiatives, his activity as an entrepreneur and head of a mechanical workshop in 'his' German city is crucial. But other commercial ideas that are associated with the cause of the well-being of his people are also key. For example, artist Gregor Torsten-Kozik has designed a colorful shirt for clothing brand Germens inspired by King Bansah. The garment is full of typical Ghanaian motifs. From the sale of each of the first 99 of these shirts – whose sale price is 228 euros on the internet – 30 euros are donated to non-profit projects in Ghana.
Cephas Bensah regularly travels to his 'kingdom' from Germany to see his own.
In his house, King Bansah has photos with illustrious people from international politics. Ludwigshafen is the city of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died last June. King Bansah has a photo with him hanging on one of the walls of his house. Also with the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, and even with Pope John Paul II. Leader of the Ewe, King Bansah is also a local celebrity in Ludwigshafen.
Hence, the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported at the time that King Bansah's name was on a list of names of the terrorist organization National Socialist Underground (NSU for its German acronym). The NSU had in its sights, above all, immigrants. Active between 2000 and 2011, the NSU killed ten people and wounded twenty in various xenophobic terrorist attacks.
The telephone and the Internet, a condition to reign
For King Bansah, being connected to the Internet is a sine qua non to carry out his duties as monarch. In Ghana, a brother of his is his representative. You are in contact with him. "Through my brother, people call me, send me photos, we talk about requests and problems," explains this man, who feels very close to his town despite living in Germany. "People in Ghana are very interested in new technologies, I demand them for the educational centers of the country", he abounds.
To reign from a distance it is also necessary, from time to time, to step on the streets of the towns where the Ewe live. King Bansah, who lives some 6,200 kilometers from Accra, the Ghanaian capital, often travels to see his subjects. “On average, I travel to Ghana once every three months to take care of the projects that are underway,” he says. This is something that Puigdemont and those who want to make him president do not seem to take into account, despite the fact that he has pending accounts with the Spanish justice system for being the main instigator of the separatist coup that the procès ended up becoming.
In this sense, the African monarch who lives in Ludwigshafen stresses that "if there is a danger that [Puigdemont] will be arrested, he will not be able to return to his land." King Bansah, however, has no problem with the law. He does not live in self-imposed exile from Puigdemont to evade justice. "I can travel to my land at any time," he points out.
“King Felipe VI does his job very well”
King Bansah is in solidarity with his Spanish counterpart, King Felipe VI, who has not hesitated to intervene in the Catalan crisis, going so far as to ask the State for firmness to act against the "inadmissible disloyalty" of the Generalitat in the days after the illegal referendum of 1-O. "King Felipe VI is a modern king who is close to his people and who does his job very well," says the Ghanaian monarch, who appeals for agreed solutions for the Catalan situation.
King Bansah is in charge of the construction of educational centers, health centers and bridges in his land
“With all my heart I hope for Catalonia and Spain a solution that comes by mutual agreement. The separation of parts of a country and of people who have been living in peace and in mutual agreement for many years is something very delicate”, he maintains. “I don't want there to be disputes that could harm both sides,” he adds.
As a monarch, King Bansah has a special status. In his country, being king does not really mean having a role comparable to that of professional politicians. Tribal kings like him serve their subjects as a moral reference. “Ghana has been a democracy for many years, where the traditional kings are cared for and respected by the people. Through the protection of this tradition peace reigns”, says King Bansah about his native country, which managed to become an independent republic in 1960. Previously it was a colony of the United Kingdom.
Between the throne room and the car workshop
"I show people in Europe and in Ghana that a man must be a worker to achieve anything in life," says King Bansah. Politicians can fall into corruption or launch into political adventures of more than questionable legality, such as the 1-O referendum held in Catalonia. Other monarchs in the 'old continent', the republican voices reproach them for living locked up in the palace between official act and official act. For his part, King Bansah is special. He is not a career politician. He has a vehicle workshop. He lives by the work of his hands.
Despite this circumstance and the fact of coming from a presidential Republic, King Bansah expresses admiration for the monarchs of the 'old continent'. “European monarchies have become very modern, serving ancient traditions. And I like that”, he exposes, before clarifying his situation as king-worker.
“I learned in Germany that you have to support yourself. I finance my existence through my work”, he comments on the half-life he has lived in the country of Angela Merkel. He first arrived in 1970, on an exchange program. Later he trained as in a school as a mechanic. In 1983 he became self-employed. Fifteen young Germans in the process of training have passed through his company.
Before becoming king, this compact-looking man – he is 1.70 meters tall – was, above all, a hard-working person. He was able to come to Germany thanks to his grandfather, king of the Ewe who died in 1992 and a great lover of Germany. “My grandfather was fascinated with Germany. He used to say: 'one of my grandchildren must go to Germany'”, says the now King Bansah. This is how the young Céphas Kosi Bansah ended up traveling to German soil and making a career as a mechanic.
The 'black Puigdemont' was able to go to Germany thanks to his grandfather, king of the Ewe who died in 1992E.E.
In 1992 his grandfather passed away. The crown would have fallen to Céphas Kosi Bansah's father or his elder brother had it not been for the fact that they were both left-handed. "Both could not be direct successors because they were left-handed," explains King Bansah. In the culture of his country, his left hand does not have a good reputation. Its use is practically banned in public life. For the Ewe, the king cannot be left-handed.
However, the royal family of the Ewe is assured of succession. King Bansah's children, Prince Carlo Koku Bansah and Princess Katharina Akosua Bansah, will continue to watch over the interests of the Ewe from Germany. "My son or my daughter will take my place," says King Bansah. Distances do not distance this family from its traditional role in Ghanaian society.
The same cannot be said of Puigdemont. In view of the political evolution in Catalonia, little or nothing suggests a fugitive who could be president of the Generalitat from Brussels and without aggravating his problems with the law.