‘Peace at Bimbila’ as late chief is buried ahead of plan

The late Nakpa-Na Salifu Dawuni has been peacefully laid to rest in a private ceremony held in Bimbila in the Northern Region. The late chief, who had contested the Bimbila paramountcy with Na Andani Dasana Abdulai in 2003, had been kept in the Yendi Municipal Hospital morgue for the past four years.

He was scheduled to be buried on Thursday as per agreements reached between the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and the Nakpa family.

The place of burial and the title to be given the late chief became a fount of tension in Bimbila, forcing a beefup in security. But 3news.com gathers the late Na salifu Dawuni was buried at his private residence, quelling any plans by any persons or group to cause confusion.

Speaking on 3FM on Wednesday, the Northern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Patrick Adusei Sarpong, said a lot of understanding took place before the body was released. But he deflated reports of tension in the Nanumba North District capital, saying those reports were coming from persons domiciled outside the town.

“There have always been rumours in the town but everybody is going about their business,” he told Bright Nana Amfoh on News Hour. The family of the late Overlord of Nanum, Na Andani Dasan Abdulai, had raised concerns over the greenlight given by government to have the mortal remains buried of their chief’s rival.

They claimed they would not allow the late Nakpa-Na to be buried at the family graveyard at Gbugmayili and that they had not been duly informed before the whole process was started. But a letter intercepted by 3news.com revealed that the body was asked to be released because it was decomposing in the morgue.

DCOP Sarpong assures that his men will continue to be on the ground until they are convinced peace has been restored. “[But] there is peace at Bimbila,” he stressed.

‘No gunshots’

MG News’ Northern Region correspondent Zubaida Ismail reported that the pomp and circumstance that accompany the burial of chiefs was absent on Wednesday.

She said though the body was agreed to be released at 4:00pm on Wednesday, it was released earlier, definitely at the blind side of rabble-rousers. There were also “no gunshots” that usually signify the burial of a chief, she added.