Bolga Chieftaincy Dispute: BONABOTO opens mediation process

BONABOTO, a civil society organization made up of natives from Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo and Tongo has  in moved to engage the two families in the Bolgatanga Chieftaincy conflict in a bid to finding a lasting solution to an almost five-year old dispute.

The litigation over the Bolgatanga skin was triggered in
2015 following the enskinment of Naba Raymond Alafia Abilba by chiefs of the
Bolga traditional area and Naba Joseph Abeka Nonge-Buuri by the Nayiri as both
held themselves out as Paramount Chiefs of the Bolgatanga traditional area.

The situation overtime degenerated into violent clashes
leading to loss of lives and property.

The Tamale court of appeal in its ruling on the matter on
October 24, 2019 ordered the two feuding factions to return to the Upper East
Regional House of Chiefs Judiciary Committee to continue the resolution
process.

In a bid to find a non-judicial solution to the protracted
dispute, BONABOTO reopened its engagement with the two factions after a similar
exercise which was commenced in 2015 broke down.

A 14-member delegation led by the chairman of BONABOTO
Council of Elders Mr. Robert Ajane, the National President of the Association
Dr. Andrew Akulaa, Member of Parliament for the Bolgatanga Central Constituency
Hon. Isaac Aduko Adongo, Catholic Cathedral Administrator of  Sacred Heart Cathedral- Very Rev. Fr. Samuel
Atinga, and the New Patriotic Party Parliamentary candidate for Bolgatanga
Central Hon. Rex Asanga among others, engaged the two families on new year’s
day to appeal to them to give peace a chance and allow the court processes to
travel to a logical conclusion.

Speaking on the PM Show on Bolgatanga based Yem Radio
monitored by MyNewsGh.com, Secretary to the mediation committee Stanley Abopam
said both factions have expressed deep concerns over the matter and their
readiness to embrace an everlasting solution to the conflict.

“It was all about excitement and they were happy that
we were re-engaging them. Indeed they opined that BONABOTO was the best
positioned group to achieve a non-judicial agreement or understanding between
the two families. Because they are in court naturally you would expect that
there would be judicial settlement of the matter, but they were looking beyond
the judicial settlement to the non-judicial. They are of the opinion that even
should the matter be settled judicially as it is going now, it still requires
some significant amount of mediation to bring the families together especially
that they have been significant amount of rancor and acrimony between them”
he said.

Mr Abopam Stanley disclosed that BONABOTO in 2015 engaged
the two families in an attempt to find an amicable solution to the issue prior
to both chiefs being enskinned which subsequently led to the legal battles that
followed.

Even though both families at the time agreed on the need to
clearly map out an acceptable selection and succession frame work and made
proposals to that effect, their proposals for the king making caucus had some
few discrepancies that BONABOTO needed to iron out. Unfortunately, these were
being worked on when the issue degenerated.

He added that what the Association seeks to do is to in the
medium to long term engage both families to have a clearly acceptable selection
and succession framework “that will not leave succession in doubt. We are
where we are now because there is some kind of doubt in succession. So, the
plan is to engage both families in a manner that will have them help us as we
help them.

A three-member working contact group has also been set up by
BONABOTO to ensure information flow and constant engagement with the two
families as part of the peace building process.

Source:MyNewsGh.com/Stephen Zoure/2020