Chairman of the Upper East Regional Peace Council, Alhaji Sumaila Issaka has stated that the Bawku conflict has gone beyond mediation considering the entrenched positions of the two fashions.
According to him, the situation is quite frustrating and efforts towards getting the feuding groups into a mediation to find an amicable solution have been met with pushbacks.
“We have tried but the situation has gone beyond mediation. Each time, the story changes. So it’s like we are not getting a consensus so the best thing is for them to go to court” Alhaji Sumaila expressed his frustration in an interview with Alfred Ocansey on the Hot Edition news, Tuesday 29 October, 2024.
According to him, If both sides agree that they have a case and go to court, the court will eventually settle it and bring finality to the matter “even though that won’t be the best decision, it will still give us time to think of other things” he opined.
On the other hand, security analyst Emmanuel Kotin told Alfred Ocansey on the same show that he disagrees with the Chairman of the Upper East Regional Peace Council that the situation has gone beyond mediation.
“I can’t agree with him at all. There can never be a situation that is beyond mediation as much as we are human beings” Kutin stated.
Eight commuters tragically lost their lives after gunmen who had blocked the Bolgatanga-Tamale highway near Gbimsi, a community close to Walewale opened fire on them on Sunday 27 October, 2024.
Witnesses account that the passengers that got trapped in the blockade were interrogated by the attackers to ascertain their identities before killing the eight travelers and setting two vehicles ablaze.
The Bawku crisis has been in existence for quite a long time, but a relative calm had been achieved for a while until the recent incidents. This resurgence has been attributed to the return of a rival Chief Alhaji Seidu from exile.
In response to the growing crisis, the Ministry of Interior after an emergency National Security meeting held on October 28, 2024, has imposed 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM daily curfew until further notice.
The Ghana Police Service has assured residents and the general public of their commitment and collaboration with the other security agencies to ensure safety and security and maintain law and order in Bawku and its environs.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has appointed Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to lead a team of eminent chiefs to mediate the Bawku chieftaincy conflict.
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Bawku Conflict: Chief Justice orders closure of 7 courts in Upper East Region