The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has revealed that substantial progress has been made toward reconciliation between the Kussasi and Mamprusi communities in towns affected by the long-standing Bawku chieftaincy conflict.
He made this disclosure while presenting the Bawku Peace Mediation Committee’s report to President John Mahama at the Jubilee House on Tuesday.
According to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the mediation committee engaged chiefs from the various affected towns and communities whose traditional recognition had been withdrawn following the implementation of the Governor-General’s White Paper of 1957, the NLC Decree 112, and subsequent legislations, including PNDC Law 75.
He explained that after extensive consultations with traditional authorities across the affected areas, the committee determined that meaningful reconciliation has been achieved between the Kussasi and Mamprusi communities in all the other towns.
The Asantehene further urged the government to firmly enforce existing laws that recognise Zugraan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate Chief of Bawku and head of the Kusasi Traditional Area.
In presenting the report, Otumfuo anchored the committee’s final recommendation not on traditional compromise alone, but on the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and the Supreme Court’s definitive ruling on the matter.
He emphasised that no traditional authority, regardless of rank or status, is above the law.
“We chiefs, no matter how exalted, do not live above the Constitution of Ghana and the laws duly enacted and affirmed by the courts.”
The Asantehene specifically called on the Nayiri, Naa Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, to accept the prevailing legal position, following attempts in recent years to install a rival chief in Bawku.
“My final recommendation, Mr. President, is that my brother, the Nayiri, accepts the laws as presently constituted, recognising Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the Chief of Bawku and Head of the Kusasi Traditional Area.”
