Baddoo Committee ruling is inconclusive - Bruku Family

Accra, Oct 27, GNA - The Bruku Family of Ashitey-We in Teshie has described the ruling of Justice S. G. Baddoo Committee that investigated the chieftaincy dispute in Teshie as a recipe for confusion and tension. It said the ruling was inconclusive with a lot of loose ends that has paved the way for conflict in Teshie.

These were contained in a statement signed by Mr Bismark Nii Ashitey Bruku for the Bruku Family of Ashitey-We.

It said due to the ''inconclusiveness of the ruling, some mischievous persons have taken advantage of the loose ends and are fomenting trouble in the town.''

The statement said the committee ruled that all the Ashitey-We families should come together to choose and install a suitable chief.

As a result of the protracted chieftaincy dispute in Teshie that was characterized by fighting and burning of property, the government set up a committee chaired by Justice S. G. Baddoo, a Supreme Court Judge, to look into the matter and come out with solutions.

The statement said the committee invited representatives of the various families that form the Ashitey-We and alleged that one Jerry Armah Mensah, who represented the Bruku Family, is from Modjawe and not Ashitey-We because it his mother who comes from Ashitey-We.

''As a result the Bruku Family was sidelined, therefore the true 'Ashitey-Wes' were without representation at the committee.'' It said when the anomaly was brought before the committee, the Bruku family was asked to align itself with Jerry Armah Mensah and pay 20 million cedis in order to be heard but they did not pay so they were denied audience at the committee sittings.

The statement said though the Brukus were denied audience at the sittings, they comported themselves for the sake of peace. It said the committee found out that the Ashitey-We belong to the Bruku Family but the committee could not come out categorically that the next chief should come from the Bruku Family.

Instead, it ruled that all the Ashitey-We families should come together to install a suitable chief.

By this ruling, the statement said, the committee threw the issue too open and this enabled some people to cause mischief. The statement said it was the belief of the Bruku Family that the committee was set up to establish the true ruling houses, remove any ambiguities and establish which family has the right or mandate to install the next chief.