Two killed in chieftaincy dispute at Portor

Portor (B/A) Oct. 13 GNA 96 Two people were killed when two settler communities at Portor on the Kintampo-Tamale Highway clashed on Wednesday in a chieftaincy dispute.

Two others received gunshot wounds and are on admission at Kintampo District Hospital.

The dead were identified as Awudu Karim, 50, a member of the Chawachawa family and Adam Gyima, 43, from the Bawa faction.

In quick response, the Brong Ahafo Regional Security Council (REGSEC) deployed 50 soldiers and 20 Policemen to the area.

Twenty-two people were arrested and 11 guns, 20 live cartridges, a number of sharp offensive weapons and talismans were seized.

As at 1430 hours on Thursday when some members of the REGSEC, led by Mr Kwadwo Kwakye, Deputy Regional Minister, went there, the residents had deserted the area. Briefing newsmen on the conflict, Lieutenant Livingstone Penti, Platoon Commander of the Third Battalion Garrison, attributed the cause of the clash to a long standing chieftaincy dispute between the two Gonja settler communities of Chawachawa and Bawa Akuraa.

Lt Penti explained that the two Gonja groups lived in two communities, located opposite Portor with Bawa Mohammed as the chief of Bawa Akuraa and Nana Kofi Panfia as the chief of Chawachawa.

The land of Portor belongs to the Nkoranza Traditional Council and as tradition demands the two factions have to pay royalties to the Omanhene of Nkoranza through the

Chief of Chawachawa. Lt Penti said on the day of the clash, Bawa Mohammed

allegedly ordered a gong-gong beater to announce that

both communities would no longer pay royalties to the

Nkoranza Traditional Council. He said in the course of the announcement a young man from the Chawachawa family seized the gong-gong

from the Village Crier and this degenerated into a hot

argument between the two, which attracted a number of

people from both factions and in an ensuing confusion they

opened fire on each other. Nana Kwakye warned that the Government would not

tolerate any behaviour that posed a threat to the peace in

the country and advised both factions to regard themselves as brothers and sisters from the same ethnic group. He asked them to channel their grievances through the appropriate quarters for redress rather than resorting to

violent behaviour.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Kwaku Ayensu Opare-Addo, Regional Police Commander, and Major Jacob Yekple, Acting Commanding Officer of Third Battalion Garrison accompanied the Deputy Regional Minister.