The people of Gbese have been thrown in to a state of mourning following the fall of a great tree.

His Royal Majesty, Dr. Nii Ayi-Bonte II, Gbese Mantse and Adonten of the Ga State, has died after a short illness.

The great chief drew his last breath on Saturday, June 6, 2026.

Mr Thomas Okai, as he was known in his private life, was last sighted on Thursday, June 4, 2026, performing a traditional rite, where he seemed weak and frail.

Nii Ayibonte II officially lifted the ban on drumming and noise-making on Thursday, as his people and loyalists carried him in celebration through the Gbese streets in Accra.

The late Nii Ayibonte II would be mostly remembered for his role in the glorious years of Accra Hearts of Oak from the 90s into the millennium.

He born to the late Emmanuel Ayitey Okai of Gbese and Charlotte Kwaamah Ankrah of Otublohum Dadebanaa all of Accra in the Greater Accra Region.

Before being installed in 2007 as Chief, he was an accountant by profession and established Lifetime Pharmacy Limited and Savemart Company Limited.

He was both a member of the Judicial Committees of the Ga Traditional Council and the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, Dodowa, as well as a Commissioner of the Greater Accra Regional Lands Commission.

The late chief also managed Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko and promoted World Boxing Federation (WBF) titles in Ghana.

He paid his dues to the good people of Gbese, and Ghana in entirety.

Yaa W) Ojogbang, Dr. Nii Ayi-Bonte II.