I can’t guarantee an incident-free funeral if Andanis still occupy parts of old Gbewaa Palace – Bolinlana

The Abudu Royal Family have raised concerns over their inability to occupy some parts of the old Gbewaa Palace warning that it could hinder the implementation of the last lap of the roadmap to peace and have petitioned the Chairman of the Eminent Chiefs Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and copied various bodies, MyNewsGh.com can report.

In a letter signed by Bolinlana Abdulai Mahamudu it stated that parts of the palace are still being occupied by the Andanis which makes it impossible for them to have access to some areas in order to properly perform the funeral rites of the late Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV specifically stating they cannot guarantee an incident free performance of the funeral on the final day on December 27, 2018.

“The Regent installation ceremony was graced by over ten thousand (10,000) mourners. This number is expected to quadruple at the climax of the funeral on the 27th of December, 2018. It is feared that given only the numbers that thronged the palace during the Regent installation, the palace circumambulation process will trigger a stampede as a result of the little space left for us by that new fence at the back of the palace. Again, given the proximity of the Temporary Palace to the Gbewaa Palace, the continued presence of the Kampakuya Naa at the Temporary Palace cannot guarantee an Incident free performance especially on the 27th December, when the numbers are expected to quadruple”, the statement said.

Read in part some of the concerns raised below;

It is with grave concern that the Abudu Royal Family craves your indulgence to take a second look at the following major hindrances to the smooth implementation of the final leg of the Roadmap to Peace in Dagbon and to take the necessary action to remedy the situation for us to do the funeral of Ya-Naa Mahammadu Abdulai IV.

“A Clause of the roadmap to peace stipulated inter alia ‘(i) …in this connection, the old Gbewaa Palace should remain free of occupation or any activity until a date is set for the performance of the funeral rites of Naa Mahammadu Abdulai.” The above notwithstanding, the Gbewaa Palace was handed over to us on the 13th day of December, 2018 with parts of the Royal Mausoleum inhabited by members of the Andani Family. We co-habited with them (Andanis) in the Gbewaa Palace and even after they seem to have left the palace, part of the Mausoleum is locked and reserved for the Andanis. Thus, the Gbewaa Palace has not been completely handed over to us. Some customary rites relating to the funeral can therefore not be observed.

The other issue has to do with the presence of Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani at the Temporary Palace A new fence has been erected a few metres away from the Gbewaa Palace to partition us and the Temporary Palace. The Regent installation ceremony was graced by over ten thousand (10,000) mourners. This number is expected to quadruple at the climax of the funeral on the 27th of December, 2018. It is feared that given only the numbers that thronged the palace during the Regent installation, the palace circumambulation process will trigger a stampede as a result of the little space left for us by that new fence at the back of the palace. Again, given the proximity of the Temporary Palace to the Gbewaa Palace, the continued presence of the Kampakuya Naa at the Temporary Palace cannot guarantee an Incident free performance especially on the 27th December, when the numbers are expected to quadruple. The case of the Northern Regional Minister and other government officials’ call on the Kampakuya Na on the 13th December, 2018 at the Temporary Palace where they were hooted at demonstrates their hostile disposition.

Dagbon is headed towards peace and every caution must be taken to ensure we get there without any distraction In view of his (Kampakuya Naa) presence in the Temporary Palace and the people it attracts, we find it a security throat to the sheer numbers the funeral of Ya-Naa Mahammadu Abdulai will pull. We, therefore, strongly recommend that the Kampakuya Na be relocated for the period during which the performance of the funeral of Na Mahammadu Abdulai will be in progress. Reference here should be made to “clause I” of the Roadmap to Peace and that is “I.

There can be only one palace in Dagbon kingdom. The temporary palace was constructed following the unfortunate incidents of 2002. In this connection, the old Gbewaa Palace should remain free of occupation or any activity until a date is set for the performance of the funeral rites of Naa Mahamadu Abudulai.” We understand from this that the Kampakuya Naa would vacate the Temporal Palace at the time of the funeral of His Majesty the late Yaa Naa Mahamadu Abdulai.