The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has revealed that significant reconciliation has been achieved between the Kusasi and Mamprusi communities in towns affected by the long-standing Bawku chieftaincy dispute.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II made the disclosure while presenting the Bawku Peace Mediation Report to President John Mahama at the Jubilee House on Tuesday.
He explained that the mediation committee engaged chiefs from towns affected by the withdrawal of traditional recognition following the implementation of the Governor-General’s White Paper in 1957, the National Liberation Council (NLC) Decree 112, and subsequent legislations, including PNDC Law 75.
According to the Asantehene, extensive consultations with traditional leaders revealed that meaningful reconciliation has taken place between the Kusasis and Mamprusis in all affected towns.
He urged the government to strictly enforce existing laws recognising Zugraan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate Chief of Bawku and head of the Kusasi Traditional Area.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II stressed that the committee’s recommendations are grounded not only in traditional diplomacy but also in the 1992 Constitution and the Supreme Court’s final judicial determination on the matter.
“No traditional leader, regardless of their status, is above the law. We chiefs, no matter how exalted, do not live above the Constitution of Ghana and the laws duly enacted and affirmed by the courts,” he stated.
The Asantehene further called on the Nayiri of Mamprugu, Naa Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, who has recently attempted to install a rival chief in Bawku, to accept the legal reality and recognise Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the Chief of Bawku and head of the Kusasi Traditional Area.
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