The Chairman of the special peace committee assigned to resolve the long-standing Bawku Chieftaincy Conflict, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called on the government to decisively enforce existing laws that recognise Zugraan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate Chief of Bawku and head of the Kusasi Traditional Area.
This marks the committee’s final and non-negotiable recommendation to President John Dramani Mahama regarding the dispute between the Mamprisis and Kusaasis, a conflict that has claimed many lives and hindered development in Bawku.
The recommendation was presented at Jubilee House in Accra, concluding the high-profile mediation initiated by the presidency to address the decades-long and deadly feud between the two factions.
Laws of the land are supreme
In delivering the report, the Asantehene based the recommendation not only on traditional diplomacy but also on the Constitution of Ghana and the Supreme Court’s final judicial determination, which affirms the status established by the Restoration of Status of Chiefs Law 75 (1983) and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003.
Addressing President Mahama and his team, the Asantehene stressed that no traditional leader 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,” he said.
He specifically urged Naa Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, the Nayiri of Mamprugu, who has previously sought to install a rival chief in Bawku, to accept the legal reality.
“The final recommendation, Mr. President, I recommend that my brother, the Nayiri, accept the laws as presently constituted as Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, the chief of Bawku and head chief of the Kusasi traditional area,” the Asantehene stated.
Government’s mandate: enforcement and stability
The committee’s report places the ultimate responsibility for maintaining peace on the Executive, calling for immediate and firm action against anyone who challenges the legally recognised authority of Naba Azoka II.
“This is critical to halting the continuous cycle of violence that has plagued the Upper East Region, costing hundreds of lives since late 2021,” the Asantehene noted.
He emphasised that swift enforcement of the law is the only way to de-escalate tensions, leaving no room for ambiguous mediation or political equivocation.
“Accordingly, the laws which recognised Asigri Abugrago Azoka II must be enforced by the government of the Republic of Ghana until changed in accordance with the 1992 Constitution or reviewed by the Supreme Court of Ghana,” he said.
The Bawku conflict, rooted in colonial-era policies that sought to impose the Mamprugu chieftaincy over the indigenous Kusasi, has seen its legal status shift under successive governments. However, the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling affirmed Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate chief, a decision binding on all citizens, including traditional leaders.
