Pekis and Tsitos are not fighting

Accra (Northern Region) - The Peki Traditional Council on Wednesday said the recent two murders in the Peki and Tsito area were outside the disputed area between them and that it has nothing to do with the Peki-Tsito conflict.

Togbe Ayim Ameyibor V, Adontenhene of Peki told newsmen in Accra in reaction to media reports on the recent murders in the area that the incidents were inside the Peki-Tsito Awudome conflict zone.

Togbe Ameyibor, who is a retired Major of the Ghana Army, urged the security authorities to treat the recent incident as murder and institute investigations "as it has no linkage with the land dispute."

He said: "the murder incident of 9 January which took place at a cottage near Kpetonu lies outside the land in dispute as well as the second one on 13 January which also occurred on Peki-Dzogbati soil located outside the disputed land."

"It is therefore, clear that the said murders have nothing to do with Peki people nor with the land in dispute to warrant the Volta Region Security Council (REGSEC) to restrict Pekis from going to their farms, which is the only source of obtaining foodstuffs for survival."

He said intelligent reports gathered on the two murders indicated similar modus operandi, stressing that both incidents took place before noon and the people were killed with guns.

He said: "after analysing the way and manner the said killings were done by the assailants, we are of the firm opinion that they were murder committed by individuals under the guise of a so called conflict situation in respect to the Peki Avetile-Tsito Awudome land dispute."

Togbe Ameyibor appealed to newsmen to be guided by the principles of objectivity and fairness to all parties in conflict and show high sense of neutrality. He called on the media to be circumspect, balanced and respect traditional norms and values of conflict areas in their reportage.

"Conflict zones are highly volatile, hence the need for circumspection and high sense of decorum in news gathering on conflicts since any unguided report or statement has the potential of aggravating the situation".

He said news items on the recent murders were proving to be highly inflammatory of the situation as far as the situation has no linkage with the conflict. "Some are totally untrue, many more are ill founded and or ill-motivated speculation and even in some cases where the reports are correct, they are reports that are calculated to inflame the situation," the Adontehene said.

Togbe Ameyibor reminded media practitioners that the calm in the area was fragile and needed to be nurtured into a lasting peace. "This is a time to show maturity and sense of responsibility, titillating scoops, especially when they are wrong but even when they are right but endanger the security of the area and the people, will not help."

The Daily Graphic reported on January 16, that the Volta Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has initiated moves to stem the wanton murder of people on the disputed land between the Pekis and the Tsitos.

The report, quoting a REGSEC statement, said the military and the police have been deployed in the area to prevent entry into and exit from the disputed areas. This followed the brutal murder of four persons by unidentified gunmen between 9 and 13 January this year.

The deceased were Maxwell Adzigo 19 years who was beheaded and Auntie Adzigo 22 in their village at Agorme, near Kpetonu.

Unidentified gunmen on their farm at Dzogbati-Peki also killed two elderly women, Mercy Kumah and Amagbu Britibi.