Chieftaincy bloodbath looms in Bole – Group warns

The Secretary to the Bole Youth for Peace and Development, Abdulai Haruna Obey, has appealed to the Minister for the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery to intervene in a festering chieftaincy feud which portends bloody consequences if officialdom fails to act.

Tension is simmering in Bole following an order by the Yagbonwura, Tutumba Boresa I, against the enskinment of sub-chiefs by Mandariwura Abdalai Issahaku Kant, since the Overlord says he does not recognize the latter as the Bolewura.

The directive, according to the youth of the area, risks sparking another chieftaincy conflict if Mr Dery and the Minister of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs do not intervene.

A chieftaincy clash between two factions who laid claim to the Bole Skin in December last year, claimed two lives. Several people were also injured while some houses were torched, forcing the locals to flee.

A curfew was imposed on the town and a joint police-military force was deployed there to deal with the situation.

Mr Obey told Class News that things are getting to a head and urgent action on the part of the government is needed to avert a conflagration à la Dagbon.

“We the youth in Bole want peace. The Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs, the Minister for the Interior and the authorities must look into the matter because this one is beyond our control and can become a Dagbon case looking at the way it is going,” Mr Obey stated.

Background

Abdalai Issahaku Kant and his brother, Abubakari Abutu, all from the Safope gate, laid claim to the Mandari skin after the chief, Bolewura Awuladese Pontomprong Mahama (II), passed away.

The conflict dragged for a prolonged period until the Judicial Council of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs ruled in favour of Abdalai Issahaku Kant.

Kant was allegedly nominated by the late chief of Bole as the rightful heir to the Mandari skin, but the Yagbonwura, Overlord of the entire traditional area, prefers Abubakari Abutu.

The Yagbonwura has subsequently asked leaders of all ethnic groups in the Bole Traditional Area not to recognise Abdalai Issahaku Kant as chief.

He insists that it is illegal to have Abdalai Issahaku Kant as Bolewura as it breaches the customs and traditions of the Gonja Kingdom.