Indigenes of Bawku living in the Ashanti Region have signed a peace pact to prevent the deadly Kusaasi–Mamprusi conflict from spilling over into Kumasi.
The mediation, spearheaded by the Ashanti Regional Security Council, followed a string of violent shootings in Asawase and Asokore Mampong that claimed two lives, including that of a local chief, sending shockwaves through the region.
Security sources fear the long-running ethnic conflict in Bawku in the Upper East region could ignite chaos in Kumasi if not contained.
While the Asantehene–led committee continues its efforts to bring lasting peace to Bawku, the Ashanti Regional Security Council is moving to prevent clashes among migrants from the conflict area.
A seven-member mediation committee, comprising top officials from various security agencies, met separately with both the Kusasi and Mamprusi factions before finally bringing them face-to-face in a joint session.
That meeting culminated in the symbolic signing of a peace pact at the Ashanti Regional Police Command on Thursday.
Head of Public Relations at the Ashanti Regional Police Command, DSP Godwin Ahianyo, described the process as a crucial intervention to protect lives and maintain calm.
“Recently, we had some disturbances in Asawase and its enclave. And people were pointing accusatory fingers and other things. So the Regional Coordinating Council, led by the Regional Minister, set up a committee to meet the two groups, as in the Kusasi and the Mamprusi. And then listen to them, after which there will be an MOU that both parties will sign to have a very peaceful coexistence in the region,” he said.
“So this morning at 10:00 a.m., both parties were here, and then the committee met them and then had some form of discussion, after which they asked them to sign a memorandum of understanding that will bring a very lasting and peaceful kind of coexistence between the two groups. So basically, that was why this meeting came on today at the Regional Headquarters, at the Al-Asad Conference Hall,” he added.
Leaders of both the Kusasi and Mamprusi groups in the Ashanti Region pledged to uphold peaceful coexistence.
Ashanti Regional Vice Chairman of the Mamprusi Youth Association, Tufeiru, and Chairman of the Kusasi Chiefs Association of the Ashanti Region, Naaba Winyellesom Ndeego, both gave strong assurances that they would counsel their followers and not import the Bawku conflict to the Ashanti region.
“Today’s meeting was to sign a peace treaty agreement between the Mamprusis and the Kusasis, and we have done so. We have been tasked to go home and advise our people to see each other as brothers and sisters,” he said.
“We are not importing any conflict from Bawku or anywhere to the Ashanti Region, or Kumasi to be precise. Because we are here for businesses, we have agreed that each community will conduct business peacefully without any violence,” he reiterated.
Security officials have also urged the factions to volunteer timely information to help prevent further violence.
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