The removal of Osei Kwame, followed by Barnabu's battle against his armed Muslim supporters in the tributary states of Gyaman and Kong, paved the way for his accession to the throne.

[2] Consequently, he belongs to the Bosommuru ntoro (patrilineal dynasty) of Opoku Ware of the Oyoko clan[3] and his accession to the throne respects the principle of dynastic alternation of the asantehene of the Ashanti Empire.

This conflict arose from the banishment of Akyaama, mother of Osei Kwame and previous asantehemaa, and the genealogical changes made by Konadu Yaadom.

[9] Ephemeral reign In 1801, Konadu Yaadom ordered the removal of Osei Kwame, but the latter fled to Juaben and planned to continue exercising power there in his own right.

To counter this, he won broad support from the districts surrounding Kumasi, as well as from the Akan tributary states of Banda, Takyiman, and Nkoransa.

[11] He created a new fekuw (company) made up of Muslim military units loyal to him, to reinforce the Ankobea (institution of the Empire's army).

[11] According to Ivor Wilks, Opoku Fofie coordinated the fifteen-month military campaign and did not accede to the Ashanti royal throne until the battle was over, in December 1803.

[18][note 2][19] Given the context of the end of Osei Kwame's reign, no black throne was dedicated to him, meaning that his funeral rites were not fully completed.

This is due to several factors: a turbulent dynastic context, the proximity between Opoku Fofie's enthronement and Osei Kwame's funeral, and his sudden and imminent death.

[15] Ashantis believes that Opoku Fofie was killed by the saman (ghost) of his predecessor for having slept with Firempomaa Tanowaa, one of his favorites, before the end of his funeral.

[21] In 1820, Joseph Dupuis reported the causes presented by oral tradition, evoking witchcraft, and also spoke of a chronic illness that took his life.

[23][24] To resolve dynastic conflicts, Osei Bonsu decreed a new law whereby the asantehene's sons and grandsons became heirs presumptive to the royal throne.

[20] Opoku Fofie's short-lived reign also weakened cohesion between the states of the Ashanti Empire by strengthening active rebel forces.

[25] The causes of death potentially linked to witchcraft are so deeply rooted in Ashanti oral tradition and culture that they are responsible for the emergence of three anti-witchcraft cults between 1879 and 1920.

[4][5] The family tree below shows the difference between the official genealogy, which deletes Akyaama, and that revised by the research of Iron Wilks and Gérard Pescheux.