Mo Traditional Area: Tension over attempts to defy ban on noise-making

There is currently an uneasy calm in the Mo Traditional Area over attempts by a sub-chief to defy the two-month ban on noise-making making which was recently announced by authorities.

Last month the Mo Traditional Council under the leadership of Nana KwakuDankwa III, the Omanhene and President of the traditional area placed a two-month ban on excessive noise-making in all areas under its jurisdiction. The ban takes effect from Monday, November 6, 2023, through to Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

The Chiefs (Nananom) have identified the non-pacification of the gods and the ancestors as the root cause of the numerous road accidents on both the Kintampo – Tamale and Kintampo – Techiman highways from 1999 to 2022, a period of twenty-three (23) years.

But at a press conference on Friday, November 17, 2023, organised by the Concerned Mo Youth and addressed by ‎Banawah Louis‎, he observed that some chiefs without recourse to security implications are planning on defying the ban.

“The Mo people are known to be peace-loving people who live with more than ten ethnic groups including the Wangara people. These ethnic groups have various Traditional festivals that are celebrated every year. But because of the ban placed on all Traditional festivities this year by the Mo – Mo-Traditional Council, these groups have suspended their festivities with the exception of the Wangara people led by Nana Fanyinama (iii).

The Wangara people who live within the Mo area intentionally and deliberately decided to violate the ban placed by the Omanhene of the Mo area”, he disclosed.

According to him, “The Municipal and the Regional Security Council have warned Nana Fanyinama to respect the orders of the Omanhene by not making excessive noise”

"On 10th November 2023, the Wangara people started rehearsing for the celebration of this year’s Kurubi festival by making excessive noise. In an attempt to stop them from making noise Mo Youth, ( Wangara people) snatched the phone of one of the Mo Youth and ran into the palace of Nana Fanyinama. This action exhibited by the Wangara people resulted in heated arguments which later resulted in sporadic shooting resulting in the death of two persons while others sustained various degrees of gunshot injuries".

"The Omanhene of the Mo Traditional Council called the police commander and the Municipal Chief Executive for protection. We don’t know if they are yet to deploy security personnel to his palace. But they have provided security personnel to protect the Wangara chief’s palace. What baffles us more is that the police provide them (Wangara people) an escort to cut firewood while the whole paramount chief does not even have a single police personnel at his palace. Also, the Municipal Assembly uses its letterhead to seek a venue for the Wangara chief to celebrate his festival, since when did the Municipal Assembly become the registrar for the Wangara community in Kintampo?".

Read the rest of the release below:

In view of this, we (Mo youth) are made to believe the rumours, that the penchant for Nana Fanyinama to go ahead to celebrate the festival is being orchestrated by the vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who doubles as the presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party.

We (the Mo youth) are advising the Vice President Dr. Bawumia to distance himself from the current issues between the Mos and the Wangaras if what the Wangara guys are saying is anything to go by.

The Municipal and the Regional Security Council have advised, that, per their intelligence, the environment is not healthy enough to allow the Kurubi festival to come off as planned. But, the on-seen hands from the above are putting pressure on both the Municipal and Regional Security Council to ensure that the festival comes off.

Even though the NkoranzaManhene has provided a place for the ground durbar of the Krubi festival, forgetting that almost 95 percent of the activities are performed at Nana Fanyinama’s palace which is located on Mo stool land.

So, this clearly shows that the orders of the Mo Traditional Council will be violated. Any person or a group of people who violates the ban of the Mo traditional council attacks our sovereignty and we (Mos) will deal with the person according to the laws of the country and the customs of our land. So Fanyinama should be advised.

Nana Fanyinama III has a penchant for initiating violence but from afar he is seen as a peace-loving persona.

During this Year’s Eid al-Adha prayers, he was advised by the police to wait for his main rival chief, thus, the Kintampo Dagomba chief and his entourage to enter his palace first but Nana Fanyinama III ignored this security warning and proceeded to meet his sworn rival at his palace junction. The swift intervention by the Ghana Police Service in Kintampo did the magic. They had to dig deep into their reserve experience to avert bloodshed. Kintampo has been sitting on a time bomb due to the feud between these two Chiefs ( Wangara and Dagomba ). Strangely, both are known strangers who are settlers on Mo Lands.