King Bansah: Part-Time Monarch, Full-Time Auto Mechanic

image credit: Jens_T

King Bansah, or Togbe Ngoryifia Céphas Kosi Bansah, rules the Gbi Traditional Area of Hohoe, Ghana. His kingdom consists of roughly 200,000 subjects, but as superior and spiritual chief of the Ewe people, he also feels responsible for 2 million in Togo.

He doesn't live in Ghana or Togo, however. His home is in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where he works as a car mechanic. When Bansah finished his studies, he decided to stay. He opened his shop and lived a quiet and happy life until, one day in 1987, a fax from Ghana changed things forever.