STORY: Benjamin Xornam Glover & Alhandu Abdul-Hamid
RESIDENTS of Bawku yesterday felt the brightest prospect for peace in the area when leaders of the Mamprusis and Kusasis, under the watch of President J. E. A. Mills, hugged each other in public for the first time since the 2007 outbreak of war between the two groups.
With the Kusasi delegation led by the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka, and the Mamprusi side led by Alhaji Akalifah Bugri Seidu, the elders displayed mutual affection and a commitment to work for peace.
Among those who observed the momentous occasion were members of the Bawku Inter-ethnic Peace Committee and the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC).
Prior to the meeting, President Atta Mills offered to say a a prayer to God in which he prayed to the Almighty to facilitate an atmosphere in which the rival factions would be filled with the spirit of love, fellow feeling and human kindness for a successful outcome and repeated his earlier pledge that the government had no intention of dabbling in chieftaincy affairs.
The President had earlier held separate meetings with the chiefs and opinion leaders of both sides in the conflict with the view of helping bring lasting solutions to the recurrent conflict in the area.
President Mill said his government could not determine the heir to any skin but would ensure the implementation of the decisions of the institutions mandated to do so by the Constitution if they made their findings known to the government on any dispute referred to them.
He said the Constitution had put in place institutions that were mandated to deal with chieftaincy disputes and asked for chieftaincy disputes to be directed to those institutions for redress.
The President said the purpose of the meeting was to allow peace to prevail in Bawku and its environs and appealed to the leaders to ensure that people went about their normal duties peacefully.
He said all documents stating claims to chieftaincy would be submitted to the mandated institutions and whatever their comments or findings were was what the government would abide by.
The President requested that as the farming season was about to begin people should be made to have access to their farmlands and also the central market should be made accessible to all. He also expressed his displeasure at the state of the Bawku Hospital, which is not functioning effectively because some medical staff feel threatened go to work.
He expressed gratitude to the factions and the members of the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee for attending the meeting and asked those with problems with their farmlands to report to the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee for redress.
The Bawku Naba on behalf of the Kusasis made a commitment to ensure that farmers who had no litigation with owners of their farmlands went about their farming activities without hindrance.
For his part, Alhaji Akalifa Seidu said the Kusasis should not entertain any fears and asked them to feel free to go to the central market to engage in their trading activities or to the hospital to seek medical attention.
Members of the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee, namely Mr David Molie, representing the Mamprusis, and Mr Thomas Abilla, representing the Kusasis, took turns to brief the President on work done so far.
Mr David Molie told the President that members of the committee were at peace with one another and that all members were committed to the peace process in the area.
He said the committee was mandated to promote peace and encourage free and easy interaction among people of all tribes in the area.
Mr Thomas Abilla from the Kusasi side on the committee also confirmed that there was some tension in the area that needed to be defused to allow free movement and trading in the area.
According to him, the committee plans to move from community to community to meet all stakeholders in the peace process including youth groups, women’s groups and other opinion leaders there to talk to them to also embrace peace.
Also present at the meeting were the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo; the Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni; the Minister for Defence, Lt. Gen. Joseph Smith (retd); the Minister for the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka; the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga; the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and other government officials.
RESIDENTS of Bawku yesterday felt the brightest prospect for peace in the area when leaders of the Mamprusis and Kusasis, under the watch of President J. E. A. Mills, hugged each other in public for the first time since the 2007 outbreak of war between the two groups.
With the Kusasi delegation led by the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka, and the Mamprusi side led by Alhaji Akalifah Bugri Seidu, the elders displayed mutual affection and a commitment to work for peace.
Among those who observed the momentous occasion were members of the Bawku Inter-ethnic Peace Committee and the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC).
Prior to the meeting, President Atta Mills offered to say a a prayer to God in which he prayed to the Almighty to facilitate an atmosphere in which the rival factions would be filled with the spirit of love, fellow feeling and human kindness for a successful outcome and repeated his earlier pledge that the government had no intention of dabbling in chieftaincy affairs.
The President had earlier held separate meetings with the chiefs and opinion leaders of both sides in the conflict with the view of helping bring lasting solutions to the recurrent conflict in the area.
President Mill said his government could not determine the heir to any skin but would ensure the implementation of the decisions of the institutions mandated to do so by the Constitution if they made their findings known to the government on any dispute referred to them.
He said the Constitution had put in place institutions that were mandated to deal with chieftaincy disputes and asked for chieftaincy disputes to be directed to those institutions for redress.
The President said the purpose of the meeting was to allow peace to prevail in Bawku and its environs and appealed to the leaders to ensure that people went about their normal duties peacefully.
He said all documents stating claims to chieftaincy would be submitted to the mandated institutions and whatever their comments or findings were was what the government would abide by.
The President requested that as the farming season was about to begin people should be made to have access to their farmlands and also the central market should be made accessible to all. He also expressed his displeasure at the state of the Bawku Hospital, which is not functioning effectively because some medical staff feel threatened go to work.
He expressed gratitude to the factions and the members of the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee for attending the meeting and asked those with problems with their farmlands to report to the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee for redress.
The Bawku Naba on behalf of the Kusasis made a commitment to ensure that farmers who had no litigation with owners of their farmlands went about their farming activities without hindrance.
For his part, Alhaji Akalifa Seidu said the Kusasis should not entertain any fears and asked them to feel free to go to the central market to engage in their trading activities or to the hospital to seek medical attention.
Members of the Inter-ethnic Peace Committee, namely Mr David Molie, representing the Mamprusis, and Mr Thomas Abilla, representing the Kusasis, took turns to brief the President on work done so far.
Mr David Molie told the President that members of the committee were at peace with one another and that all members were committed to the peace process in the area.
He said the committee was mandated to promote peace and encourage free and easy interaction among people of all tribes in the area.
Mr Thomas Abilla from the Kusasi side on the committee also confirmed that there was some tension in the area that needed to be defused to allow free movement and trading in the area.
According to him, the committee plans to move from community to community to meet all stakeholders in the peace process including youth groups, women’s groups and other opinion leaders there to talk to them to also embrace peace.
Also present at the meeting were the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo; the Deputy Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni; the Minister for Defence, Lt. Gen. Joseph Smith (retd); the Minister for the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka; the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga; the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and other government officials.
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