Asantehene Commences Processes to Resolve Bawku Chieftaincy Dispute

The King of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has begun processes to put an end to the protracted Bawku chieftaincy conflict between the Mamprusis and the Kusasis.

The first of a series of engagements with the feuding parties has been held at the Manhyia Palace, marking the commencement of a diplomatic strategy to quell longstanding conflict which has claimed countless lives since it began in 1932.

Otumfuo met the leadership of the Mamprusis at his Palace in Kumasi on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Prior to this meeting, the King held a private meeting with the Minister for Interior, Hon Muntaka Mubarak and the Minister for Defence, Edward Omane Boamah.

The new Ministers’ meeting with the Monarch centred around the dispute.

Conflict
The feuding factions are imposing their legitimacy over the Bawku town.

According to Rev Professor John Zumah, the Executive Director of the Sanneh Institute and Visiting Professor of Yale University, the issue is not so much as who is the legitimate Bawku Naba currently, but whose traditional homeland is Bawku.

The conflict has claimed the lives of many as well as millions of cedis. The Africa Report says 20 people died between December 2022 and February 2023 as a result of the conflict.

A committee was set up to investigate the issues and the Supreme Court of Ghana has sat on the case and delivered a ruling but all these attempts have proven futile in settling the dispute.

Following the Asantehene’s resolution of the 16-year-old Dagbon chieftaincy dispute, stakeholders called on the government to reach out to the King for the resolution of the Bawku dispute.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini