T-Shirts Banned at Damba Festival, March 30, Page 17

The Bawku Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) has with immediate effect banned the wearing of T-Shirts and other paraphernalia associated with the aborted Damba festival.A statement signed by the Chairman of MUSEC, Mr Musa Abdulai, issued in Bawku said “for the sake of peace, MUSEC has with immediate effect banned the wearing of those items in any part of the municipality pending the outcome of ongoing dialogue between the feuding parties facilitated by Civil Society groups and central government.”According to the statement, the law enforcement agencies would not countenance any acts aimed at derailing the peace process and any violations of the ban, warning that those who chose to violate it would be dealt with firmly.It explained that henceforth, samples of inscriptions and symbols on T-shirts, apparels and paraphernalia for any intended celebration in the municipality should be submitted to MUSEC for vetting.“For the sake of peace, law and order the public should co-operate with the law enforcement agencies in this regard and allow them to deal with the situation,” the statement said.The statement said it had come to the notice of MUSEC that some T-shirts, which it described as controversial, as well as other apparels and paraphernalia were printed on or before March 20, 2010, for the Damba festival celebration with inscriptions relating to the chieftaincy dispute in Bawku.It said, the distribution and wearing of the T-shirts in Bawku and other parts of the country was threatening peace and security.One of the T-Shirts has on its front side, the portrait of the 14th Chief of the Bawku traditional area, Naa Adam Zangbeo who ruled from 1967 to 1981. The reversed side has a list of all the Mamprusi chiefs who have ruled Bawku since 1721 captured under the title “original chiefs of Bawku”.Just last week, Mamprusis and Kusasis in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital, clashed at the cola market over the wearing of the said T-shirts.Tension has also been mounting in the Bawku township between the two ethnic groups over the wearing of the T-Shirts.