MAMPRUSIS RESOLVE TO CELEBRATE DAMBA FESTIVAL (PAGE 3, MARCH 20, 2010)

Mamprusis in the Bawku municipality in the Upper East Region have resolved to celebrate the Damba Festival, irrespective of a directive from National Security to call off the celebration.
An Assembly member for Natinga, a Mamprusi settlement in Bawku, Mr Bashiru Salifu, said so far as the Mamprusis were concerned, they had not been served with any letter from National Security restraining them from celebrating the festival scheduled for today, March 20, 2010.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, told the Daily Graphic that a letter received from the National Security Secretariat, stated that intelligence gathered so far indicated that the peace in Bawku could be compromised if the people went ahead with the celebration.
But, according to the assembly member for Natinga, since the people had not received any letter from National Security banning the celebration of the festival, they would go ahead to celebrate the event.
“We do not understand why we should be restricted. During the Samanpiid Festival by the Kusasis recently, we were assured by the security agencies that we (Mamprusis) would be provided the necessary security when it got to our turn. In fact, we celebrated the Fire Festival last month and no incident occurred, so why should we be prevented from observing the Damba Festival?” he asked.
Meanwhile, some elders of the Mamprusi community who spoke to the Daily Graphic were of the opinion that failure to allow them to celebrate the Damba Festival would amount to discrimination.
They contended that they did not understand why others within the same municipality should be allowed to celebrate their festival while they were being denied the opportunity to celebrate theirs.