| Four Persons have lost their lives in a clash between two factions over the chieftaincy of Buipe in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region. |
The gun-battle began on Thursday evening after a court ruling on the rightful descendant to the Buipe skin.
According to sources, the Buipewura, known in private life as Mohammed Abdulai Salmanwura, was a few years ago appointed by the Yagbonwura as the substantive chief of the Central Gonja District town.
Two others, Gungunsuwura and Tampewura disagreed with the Yagbonwura’s choice and headed for court, with the ensuing legal battle dragging on for two years, seven months.
Last Thursday however, a court ruling cleared Salmanwura to ascend the skin as the substantive Buipewura.
Upon their return from the court, Salmanwura and his supporters headed for old Buipe where the enskinment was due to take place.
Whiles there, they were reportedly attacked by a group of persons suspected to be supporters of the Gungunsuwura and the Tampewura.
But for the timely intervention of the Police, the aftermath would have been more disastrous than the current situation.
On Saturday, the fight erupted again as a result of a misunderstanding between supporters of the different parties, leading to the loss of four lives and injury of 20 others.
A Tico taxi, whose owner was not immediately known, was burnt to ashes during the clash.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Gonja Central, Alhassan Zakari confirmed the renewal of hostilities, but denied that four persons were dead as a result of the clash.
He said as far as he was concerned, only one person had died, stressing that the situation had been brought under control.
He told Reporter that on Thursday evening he saw signs of disturbances in the area and so rushed to inform the Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Idris Ali who is also Chairman of the Regional Security Council, about the situation.
The DCE said no sooner had he finished with his consultation with the Minister than he heard a report about the fierce fighting in the area.
He appealed to fleeing residents to stay calm, debunking the claims that military personnel had been deployed to the area.
The DCE attributed the foregone to “some persons who want to create unnecessary tension within the Buipe township”.
He assured residents that adequate security would be provided so they could go about their normal duties.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the newly installed chief of Buipe, Abdulai John has told the Media that the outdooring of the new Buipewura would take place this evening.
According to him, there could only be one chief in the area, and therefore appealed to all the parties to join hands with the newly enskinned Buipewura to move the area forward and fight against poverty and illiteracy.
Mr. Abdulai said the Buipewura was ever ready to accept any of the factions in negotiations to better the lives of the people of Buipe.
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