One dead in clash over parcel of land, 31 arrested

One person has been killed in a clash at Kassena-Nanakana in the Upper East Region over a parcel of land. Thirty-one persons have also been arrested in connection with the incident. The clash occurred at the Akonkongo-Abempengo electoral area where a parcel of land was earmarked for the construction of a police post.

The incident has forced residents to flee from the area. Indigenes of Kandiga who are settlers in Doba and the people of Doba both claim ownership of the land. The people of Doba accused the Kandiga settlers of commencing the construction of the police post without seeking permission from them. They subsequently moved to stop the construction but were met with resistance from the people of Kandiga.

The Chairman of the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Security Committee and Chief Executive, William Aduum said, the situation led to the death of one but some suspects have been remanded to assist police with their investigations.

“So far, 31 people have been arrested from both sides and have been sent to court and remanded, one person lost his life during this trying moment and the body taken to the mortuary but the information I’m gathering is that the two people(the deceased and the suspect) had their problems in the past and the young man(suspect) took advantage of the situation and shot the man.”

“Some two guns were retrieved from the people. We are maintaining law and order through the joint police-military personnel and we are restricting the movement of people within the area from 6:00 pm to 8:00 am until further notice.” Mr. Aduum further disclosed that hundreds of women and children are currently seeking asylum in other communities.

“Because of this conflict, women and children have fled these communities and are living with relatives in Sumbrungu, Vonania, Janania and some even at the Navrongo chief palace, so the assembly is meeting to see how best we can help this situation.

“We also want to use the media for us to educate our people on the need for peace and co-existence and I want to urge the media to use their medium to educate them on the need for peace. Without peace we cannot get development. Let me appeal to the two factions to cease-fire for us to go back to the negotiation table because the matter is in court.

Let us engage our lawyers to get to the final conclusion on this case so that we will be at peace as far as this municipality is concerned,” Mr.Aduum added. He further appealed to residents in the area to remain calm as efforts are made to resolve the matter.