Ghana: Information on the chieftaincy dispute in Bimbilla, including the process for choosing a chief (1999-April 2017)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor emeritus of Anthropology at Haverford College, who has recently authored a book on chieftaincies in Northern Ghana, stated that "the chieftaincy dispute is ultimately about the paramount title of Bimbilla Naa in Nanun (Nanumba), a traditional area in the Northern Region of Ghana" (Professor Emeritus 4 Apr. 2017). In a 2013 academic article entitled "Political Culture in Nanun, Northern Ghana," published in the journal Afrika. Studies in Art and Culture/Studije umetnosty i kulture, Peter Skalník [1] explains that Nanun is "represented by a paramount chief, the Bimbilla Naa (chief of Bimbilla), who resides in a palace at the capital of Bimbilla" (Skalník 2013, 4). In a 2009 book entitled An Ethnographic Study of Northern Ghanaian Conflicts: Towards a Sustainable Peace, Albert K. Awedoba, a social anthropologist and Deputy Director of the University of Ghana's Institute of African Studies (African Books Collective n.d.), states that "the town of Bimbilla is the traditional capital of Nanun, the Nanumba Kingdom, … [and] [a]ll Nanumba people acknowledge the chief of Bimbilla as their paramount chief" (Awedoba 2009, 190).

2. Succession Procedures

The Professor Emeritus indicated that succession is "supposed to alternate between two royal houses," adding that the "Lion House" and the "Bangle House" both have their own "internal factions or 'gates'" (Professor Emeritus 4 Apr. 2017). According to Peter Skalník's article,

Naam [the chieftaincy] is being passed not only from a person to person but from one chiefly house to another. Alternation of naam between two houses, Gbuxmayili (lion's house) and Banyili (bangle house) has been a rule for the last two hundred years. (Skalník 2013, 5)

Similarly, Albert K. Awedoba states the following regarding the succession of the Bimbilla chieftaincy:

The skin of Bimbilla, the kingship of Nanun, is reached through the two established gates of Gbomayli and Bangyili which should take turns to occupy a vacant Bimbilla skin. This is common knowledge to most Nanumbas. Given the rule of alternation, everyone knows the gate of the deceased and the next gate to take over, even if the identity of the individual to succeed is not always known long in advance. (Awedoba 2009, 190)

The same source adds that "[ideally], Nanumba royals should not access the paramountcy straight away, but have to reach there through a promotional ladder beginning from a lower chiefdom" (Awedoba 2009, 190). Similarly, Peter Skalník indicates that "still, the succession is not a smooth affair" because of "competition between the entitled candidates, members of [the] the succeeding chiefly house" (Skalník 2013, 5).

Without providing further detail, the Professor Emeritus explained that the succeeding chief "must be approved and invested by a group of non-royal elders (the Naa Kamba, 'kingmakers') and of ritual specialists ('earth priests,' Tindamba) connected to certain shrines" (Professor Emeritus 4 Apr. 2017). According to Peter Skalník,

[t]he nine naakpamba [litt. chief's elders] fulfill the role of electors. The naakpamba are chiefs who are naam incumbents in several villages to the east and south of Bimbilla. Theses chiefs are enskinned by the Bimbilla Naa but they cannot ever aspire to the naam of Bimbilla. (Skalník 2013, 9)

Further and corroborating information regarding the process to choose a chief could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. The Chieftaincy Dispute in Bimbilla
3.1 Causes of the Dispute

According to the Professor Emeritus, "the dispute has been going on since the death of Bimbilla Naa Abarika Attah II [Naa Abarka] in 2001" adding that the dispute was between two of the kingmakers, who each claimed "primacy in the investiture ('enskinment') of a new Bimbilla Naa" (Professor Emeritus 4 Apr. 2017). According to the same source "[t]wo gates of the Lion House each invested someone as Bimbilla Naa" (Professor Emeritus 4 Apr. 2017). In a 2012 academic article entitled "Chieftaincy Succession Dispute in Nanun, Northern Ghana: Interrogating the Narratives of the Contestants," published in the Ghana Journal of Geography, Alhassan Sulemana Anamzoya and Steve Tonah[2] state that:

though the dispute is essentially a power struggle between two princes for the highest traditional office among the Nanumba, it is also a contest for power between two of Nanun's most powerful kingmakers, the Kpatihi Naa and the Juo Naa. (Anamzoya and Tonah 2012, 83)

The same source explains that

[t]he current chieftaincy dispute in Bimbilla dates back to 1999, when the ruling Bimbilla Naa, Naa Abarika died. Since he was from the Bangyili gate, his successor was expected to come from the Gbugmayili gate in accordance with Nanun tradition. The funeral of the deceased king was performed in 2003, which was to be immediately followed by the selection and enskinment of his successor by the nine kingmakers of Nanun. However, six of the kingmakers (led by the Kpatihi Naa) decided on Mr Andani Dasana Abdulai, a son of a former king of Nanun, as the next king while the other three kingmakers (led by the Juo Naa) selected Alhaji Salifu Dawuni, the sitting Nakpa Naa, as the successor to the deceased king. The kingmakers could thus not agree on the legitimate successor to the Bimbilla skin. Two princes emerged from the Gbugmayili gate, each claiming to have been selected by the appropriate authority as the Bimbilla Naa. (Anamzoya and Tonah 2012, 88)

Similarly, Albert K. Awedoba states that three years after the death of the late paramount chief of Bimbilla

divisions began to show up. Some people preferred … Alhaji Salifu Dawuni because he was the only chief from the gate entitled to succeed, who held a senior chiefship title that opens to the kingship. His opponents objected pointing out that Alhaji Salifu Dawuni's father had never been king of Nanun and he could not therefore be qualified. The six kingmakers who thought the king must have been the son of a previous monarch then proposed Andani Dasana, whose father had been a king. For the supporters of Alhaji Salifu Dawuni, Andani Dasana had not been a sub-chief and could not by tradition move from scratch to kingship. (Awedoba 2009, 193)

Anamzoya and Tonah further explain that

the political system relies on the existence of consensus amongst the elders and kingmakers in the selection of a new king. In the absence of such consensus, as is currently the case in Nanun, the political system becomes paralyzed as no single individual is able to act in the absence of a king. Attempts by supporters of Andani Dasana to claim the kingship through the use of the democratic principle by virtue of having obtained the support of the majority (six out of the nine) of the kingmakers in Nanun was also rejected outright because this practice has not been used in the past. (Anamzoya and Tonah 2012, 99)

3.2. Incidents of Violence

According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005

"gun battles returned to Bimbila, the site of a long-standing chieftaincy dispute. The clashes between rival factions vying for the chiefta[i]ncy resulted in gunshot wounds to one and machete wounds to four others as well as five arrests." (US 8 Mar. 2006)

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), in 2006,

[s]upporters of two rivals for the vacant paramount chieftaincy of the Nanumba ethnic group clashed in their main town Bimbilla on 9 January. Scores of people were rushed to hospital with gunshot and machete wounds, though there were no fatalities.

Local newspapers say the violence in Bimbilla, which lies over 400 kilometres north of the capital Accra, started after supporters of one candidate for the throne blamed a power cut at a child's naming ceremony on supporters of their rival. (UN 31 Jan. 2006)

Sources indicate that authorities enforced a curfew in Bimbilla as a result (UN 31 Jan. 2006; Freedom House 2007), which was lifted at the end of April 2006 (Freedom House 2007).

The Professor Emeritus stated the following regarding the status of the dispute:

There were years of sporadic fighting, burning of houses and farms, etc., such that most women and children fled the area.

…

In 2014, amid further fighting … Andani Salifu Dawuni was killed; his family wants him to be buried as "Bimbilla Naa," over the opposition of the other gate. His body has been in cold storage since then. In February of [2017], amid continuing tension and seemingly minor disputes about who was entitled to do what, there were more killings. …

The Northern Region House of Chiefs is supposed to settle the dispute but has been unable to (by law, the government of Ghana is forbidden to intervene in chieftaincy matters; in practice, each faction appeals for support to one or other of the two dominant political parties). (Professor Emeritus 4 Apr. 2017)

Further and corroborating information about the status of the dispute could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to Freedom in the World 2016, in July 2015, "four people were killed and another injured in violence related to a chieftaincy dispute in Bimbilla" (Freedom House 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources indicate that in February 2017 10 (GNA 18 Feb. 2017) or 11 people were killed in chieftaincy related clashes in the Bimbilla area (The Ghanaian Times 16 Feb. 2017). According to The Ghanaian Times, a Ghanaian daily newspaper, among the dead were men, women and children, and "[s]ome others who sustained gunshot wounds are … receiving treatment at the Bimbilla government hospital" (The Ghanaian Times 16 Feb. 2017).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] According to the website of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Studies (IUAES) Peter [Petr] Skalník was Extraordinary Professor at the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of the University of Wroclaw in 2013, and he has researched and written on the role of Nanumba chieftaincy in modern Ghana (IUAES Sept. 2013)

[2] Alhassan Sulemana Anamzoya is a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana's Department of Sociology, whose research interests include chieftaincy conflicts (University of Ghana n.d.a). Steve Tonah is a professor at the University of Ghana's Department of Sociology whose research includes chieftaincy and traditional rule (University of Ghana n.d.b).

References

African Books Collective. N.d. "Albert K. Awedoba." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]

Anamzoya, Alhassan Sulemana and Steve Tonah. 2012. "Chieftaincy Succession Dispute in Nanun, Northern Ghana: Interrogating the Narratives of the Contestants." Ghana Journal of Geography. Vol. 4.

Awedoba, Albert K. 2009. An Ethnographic Study of Northern Ghanaian Conflicts: Towards a Sustainable Peace. Accra: Sub-Saharan publishers.

Freedom House. 2016. "Ghana." Freedom in the World 2016. [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

Freedom House. 2007. "Ghana." Freedom in the World 2007. [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

The Ghanaian Times. 16 February 2017. Malik Sullemana. "'NPP, NDC to be blamed for Bimbilla district'." [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

Ghana News Agency (GNA). 18 February 2017. Frederica Kyeremateng. "Regional House of Chiefs Visits Bimbilla." [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Studies (IUAES). September 2013. "Professor Petr/Peter Josef Karel Skalník." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]

Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Haverford College. 4 April 2017. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Skalník, Peter. 2013. "Political Culture in Nanun, Northern Ghana." Afrika. Studies in Art and Culture. Vol. 2.

United Nations (UN). 31 January 2006. Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). "Chieftaincy Tussle Brews Conflict in Northern Town." [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

University of Ghana. N.d.a. "Alhassan Sulemana Anamzoya." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]

University of Ghana. N.d.b. "Steve Tonah." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]

United States (US). 8 March 2006. Department of State. "Ghana." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Associate Professor, Ohio State University; Associate Professor, Temple University; Associate Professor, York University; Center for African Studies, University of Florida; Lecturer, Centre Population et Développement, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité; Lecturer, Institut d'Études Politiques de Bordeaux; Lecturer, Institut des mondes africains; Professor, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh; Professor, Department of History, Washington University in St. Louis; Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Ghana; Professor, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; ecoi.net; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; Jeune Afrique; Minority Rights Group International; Radio France internationale; UN - Human Rights Council, Refworld.