Don’t resort to violence – Legal practitioner

Mr John Ndebugre , a legal practitioner, has admonished people who are fond of resorting to violence to address conflict issues, to refrain from such negative attitudes, since it undermines peace in the country.

The legal practitioner was reacting to last Saturday’s Chieftaincy clash that occurred in Bolgatanga, during which some divisional chiefs and elders got injured.

Five people who were in critical conditions as a result of the attack by an irate group from a faction, were admitted at the Bolgatanga Hospital.

The irate group that wielded machetes, knives and stones also vandalized a car that was carrying some of the chiefs and elders and smashed the wind screens.

The Divisional and Sub Divisional Chiefs and the elders as custom demands were invited to the Bolgatanga Chief’s Palace to select a person to be enskinned, in the near future, as the next Paramount Chief to succeed the late Bolga-Naba, Naba Martin Abilba the III who passed away last year.

It is alleged that a faction of the Atulibabisi community, who misinterpreted the process to mean the Divisional and Sub Chiefs and some elders were about to enskin a Chief of the area right away, laid ambush and attacked some of the sub-chiefs, divisional chiefs and the elders who were yet on their way to the Chief’s Palace to take part in the decision process.

The legal practitioner who described the action of the irate group as unwarranted and unconstitutional, said per the Chieftaincy Act and the Constitution, the decision taken by the Atulibabisi Divisional and Sub chiefs including the elders to elect somebody from the royal family to be out doored at a later date was the right one and wondered why the irate group could take such a nasty action.

He explained further that per the Chieftaincy act, when a chief passed away, within a six month period the vacant skin was supposed to be filled and indicated that necessitated to the “Apasseyelome” royal family to initiate the process in consultation with the various clans of the Atulibabisi, the Divisional and Sub chiefs including the elders.

On the enskinment and enstoolment of chiefs in Ghana, he stressed that per the Chieftaincy act, it was wrong and unacceptable for a person from a different custom and tradition to enskin a chief who is from a different tradition and custom.

Mr Ndebugre intimated that records indicated that such a decision was imposed by the British Colonial Masters, during the indirect rule era in the Bawku, Bongo and the Bolgatanga traditional areas, and said it was wrong under the Chieftaincy Act and the Constitution of Ghana.