Document from the Dagbon Traditional Council

DAGBON TRADITIONAL COUNCIL

Confidential

Nana Otumfuo Osei Tutu II
Chairman of The Otumfuo Committee
Manhyia Palace
Kumasi

Your Majesties,

RE: ENTOMBMENT OF YA-NAA YAKUBU II AND THE INSTALLATION OF HIS GBON-LANA (REGENT) AS THE THIRD BURIAL FUNERAL RITE OF THE LATE KING

Your Majesties will recall that since the assassination of Ya-Naa Yakubu II in the year 2002, I have always in consultation with the Andani Royal Family (as the immediate bereaved family) and with the Consecrated Council of Elders of Dagbon made several attempts to entomb the mortal remains of the murdered King. In addition to perform the burial funeral rites, after entombment, and to install Ya-Naa Yakubu II?s Gbon-Lana (Regent).

Programmes, to that effect, were made in the years 2003, 2004 and 2005. Regrettably, however, they have always been frustrated and aborted.

At your last meeting in Manhyia Palace, on 12th April 2005, your Committee of Eminent Kings accepted my programme presented for the entombment of the assassinated Ya-Naa Yakubu II. To perform his First and Second burial funeral rites and to install his Gbon-Lana (Regent).

Other matters raised, at that meeting, by the Abudulai Royal Family, however, made your Committee adjourn for three (3) weeks to enable your Chairman travel and on his return to consider various evidence before your Committee is reconvened. It had been almost a year since the last adjourned meeting.

I do fervently believe that the entombment of the assassinated Ya-Naa Yakubu II; customary performance of his First and Second burial funeral rites and the installation of his Gbon-Lana (Regent) will be a recipe to ease tension in Dagbon and also console the aggrieved Andani Royal Family.

This time round, for the fifth (5th) time, I have made the relevant Customary Consultations with the bereaved family and we have once again firmly agreed to entomb the mortal remains of the late Ya-Naa Yakubu II and to customarily install his Gbon-Lana (Regent) in April 2006 (Damba Lunar month). When the Regent of Dagbon is customarily installed, I shall, as Kuga-Naa, be freed from acting as Leader of Dagbon to then concentrate, once more, on customary and the cultural affairs of Dagbon.

I do pray your Majesties, as customary leaders of your own respective ethnic groups, to persuade the Government of Ghana to allow me to customarily lay to rest the mortal remains of the assassinated King of Dagbon. The late King cannot remain un-interned and the customary funeral rites not performed with dignity indefinitely. Dagbon should not remain destabilised for that is undoubtedly rather daunting.

I further pray your Majesties, not to allow yourselves to be swayed by anarchic factions in Dagbon to introduce repugnant iniquities into Dagbon customs. Your Majesties are, again, advised to assist retain the existing Dagbon customs and to avoid the creation of parallel authority in the Dagbon State.

The detail programme for the entombment and burial funeral rites of the late Ya-Naa Yakubu II and the installation of his Gbon-lana (Regent), is here, attached for your consideration. The programme is firmly agreed with the immediate bereaved family and the Consecrated Council of Elders of Dagbon.

Under the current temporary anarchic environment of Dagbon, however, a written approval of the programme is very pertinent and I pray your Majesties to agree to issue me with a permit to perform my customary duties.

SECURITY

To ensure that there is no breach of the peace, I am appealing to your Majesties to request the authorities to re-enforce security in Yendi generally and around the Palace in particular, three (3) days before the wives, children and dependants of the late Ya-Naa Yakubu II move into the palace and to remain same until the end of the implementation of the programme. Further extension of security requirements will be made direct to the Regional Security Council (REGSEC).

I fervently hope that this letter would be given the urgency it deserves to enable us lay to rest, with dignity, the mortal remains of the late Ya-Naa Yakubu II.

Yours faithfully,

(KUGA-NA ABDULAI BRAIMAH) ACTING PRESIDENT OF DAGBON TRADITIONAL COUNCIL Distribution (3 of 3)

cc:

His Excellency, President J.A. Kufuor
Chairman, REGSEC
President, Northern Regional House of Chiefs
Regional Minister, Northern Regional Coordinating Council
President, National House of Chiefs
Chairman, Council of State
General Secretary, Christian Council of Ghana
General Secretary, Catholic Bishops Conference
Chief Imam, Office of the National Imam
The President, Ghana Bar Association, (GBA)
Ghana News Agency, (GNA)
Representative, United Nations Dev. Programme (UNDP)
Representative, West African Network for Peace Building
High Commissions, (Common Wealth)
Diplomatic Missions (ECOWAS) Dean of The Diplomatic Corp. in Ghana