A search operation to retrieve illegal arms is underway in Damongo in the Northern Region where supporters of two rivalry chiefs clashed Thursday night in a renewed chieftaincy dispute that sparked gunshots.
Intermittent gunshots were fired towards the Yagbon Palace in Damongo Thursday at about 6:00pm causing some people to flee the scene as supporters of the two rival chiefs reportedly clahsed.
Some people are said to have sustained various degree of injuries, especially around their heads, but the Police in the area are yet to confirm.
A team of police officers from the West Gonja District have moved in to the Damongo town Friday morning where they are doing house-to-house search to flush out the suspects and retrieve illegal arms and ammunitions, the District Commander ASP Agyeman Opoku Prempeh has told 3News.
Sources say warriors from Kusawgu in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region were deployed Thursday to the palace of the overlord of Gonjaland, Yagbon-Wura Tuntumba Bore Essa II after the gunshots were heard.
The overlord and the palace have come under threats from one faction of the people who have pledged their support for Alhaji Dangbe who the palace say was illegally enskined to the Damango skin some three months ago by the custodian of Gonjaland, Ngbaripe-Wura.
His enskinement came days after the King and President of the Gonja Traditional Council and his elders have enskined Budon-Wura Imoro Yakubu, the candidate of the Yagbon-Wura based on what is said to be the time tested tradition.
This was after the Damongo skin became vacant following the demise of Damongo-Wura Tuntumba Jakpa II on January 28, 2016 after a short illness.
Background
The two candidates – Budon-Wura Imoro Yakubu and Alhaji Dangbe – who come from one family, were allowed to vie for the skin as it was their family to choose a candidate for the Damongo skin.
All candidates were offered the opportunity to justify why they should be the one to be chosen to ascend the skin.
The Gonjaland Council of Chiefs upon deliberations on April 21, 2016 settled on Budon-Wura Imoro Yakubu, the candidate brught forward by the Yagbon-Wura as the legitimate candidate to ascend the skin based on their tested tradition.
A traditional ceremony was performed by the chiefs and elders of the Traditional Council at the Yagbon Palace where he was named the “Damongo-Wura” to succeed the late Damongo-Wura Tuntumba Jakpa II.
The confusion
Notwithstanding, Alhaji Dangbe opposed the pronouncement of Budon-Wura Imoro Yakubu as the legitimate Damongo-Wura, claiming “tradition does not work in the case of Damongo Chieftaincy affair”.
An equally traditional proceedings were subsequently performed by the custodian of the Gonja Land Ngaberipe-Wura to enskin Alhaji Dangbe as the “legitimate Damongo-Wura” ; a development that led to confusion the two rivalry chiefs
The warning
His Majesty Yagbon-Wura at an emergency Traditional Council meeting on July 2,1 2016 at the Yagbon Palace cautioned Ngbaripe-Wura, his accomplice Alhaji Dangbe and politicians to stay out of the roles of the King of Gonjaland.
“Alhaji Dangbe and the Ngbaripe-Wura today have assumed the position of the Yagbon -Wura and I, Yagbon-Wura Tuntumba I, is not ready to bring disunity and separation in Gonjaland, but all these issues are happening because politics has assumed a position in Gonja Tradition,” he stated.
Chief Warrior and Chief of Busunu Nugbaso at the meeting warned both candidates not to attempt to cause chaos or be prepared to be “beheaded by him and his men”.
But it appears the caution was not strong enough, causing the latest clash.
Residents of Damongo now fear the Busunu chief will carry out his threats of beheading leaders of the two factions as warned.
By Zubaida Ismail|3news.com|Ghana
