IRIN Focus on the Yendi crisis

Gbewaa Palace, focal point of over 600 years of history, tradition and culture in the Dagomba traditional area of northern Ghana, lies in ruins, along with about 30 other pillaged and burnt buildings in the town of Yendi. The palace was almost sacred to the Dagomba people. It is now a roofless shell, its walls pockmarked by bullets: a reminder of fighting four months ago that caused about 30 deaths, including that of the area's traditional ruler, and drove many people from their homes. Janet Adama, director of the Christian Council of Ghana, told IRIN in early August that at least 3,498 people remained displaced in other parts of northern Ghana: 1,772 in Tamale, 939 in Yendi, 216 in Gushiegu, 416 in Bimbilia and 155 in Zabzugu. NGOs and the government's National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have been providing them with food and other forms of support, mainly in the areas of health and education, Adama added. Yendi is the capital of the Dagbon traditional state, which has long been affected by rivalry between two clans, the Abudu and the Andani. Andani and Abudi were the sons of a Dagbon king, Ya Naa Yakubu I, after whose death the kingship was rotated between their descendants. The system worked smoothly until 1948, when it was replaced by a selection committee. Intense disputes ensued, with each clan aligning itself with alternate governments as they came to power. The tension intensified this year, with the late Yakubu Andani II facing increasing insubordination from the rival clan. This led to the imposition on 24 March of a curfew from 21h00 to 05h00 local time. The curfew was lifted on 25 March for the celebration of the Bugum festival, which marks the beginning of the Dagbon calendar year, but a shoot-out between the clans led to its reimposition. Despite the curfew, the fighting continued and, on 27 March 2002, assailants overran the palace, killing Ya-Naa Yakubu Andani II along with 29 other members of the Andani clan. The palace is some 300 metres from Yendi police station and about 500 metres from a military camp. "No policeman or soldier came to the scene despite the gunshots and their proximity to the palace," the spokesman and lawyer of the Andani clan, Ibrahim Mahama told IRIN in Ghana's third largest town, Tamale, 60 km from Yendi. Mahama said that, in the heat of the battle, the army detachment in Yendi - which had 13 soldiers - sought reinforcements, which arrived on the night of 26 March, but remained in the camp. A soldier in Yendi confirmed this. "We arrived in Yendi about midnight on 26 March," he told IRIN. "By then, there were no gunshots and we went to the camp. At about 4 a.m heavy shooting resumed. We sat in the camp waiting for a command to go to the scene, but none came. Fierce shooting went on but we uneasily stayed put. "Later on, we heard the 'talking drums' announcing the death of the Ya Naa. We were so distressed, embarrassed and humiliated. The military had failed." The police, too, did not intervene. "The police said the key to their armoury was not available but it was found somehow after Ya Naa's death," Afi Yakubu of Ghana's Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) said. "There were too many coincidences," she added. In her view, the conflict could have been controlled because tension had been building up and sporadic gunshots heard at night for at least a week prior to the final three-day battle. "The district security office knew about it and even delivered information to [the capital] Accra but nothing was done," she said. The family of the slain ruler claimed that his death was "the climax of a grand and well orchestrated conspiracy involving some highly placed government officials who willfully exploited the state security apparatus and resources". They said in a report in April that no-one intervened despite distress calls sent by the Ya-Naa to the army detachment in Yendi, and to the regional security council in Tamale. Telephone communications with Yendi were cut during the three days of fighting, but restored immediately after his killing, they added in the report. While the battle raged, the then interior minister and member of parliament for Yendi said on national and international radio that the area was calm and that there was nothing wrong. He later resigned as did two other senior government officials from the Abudu clan, the minister for the Northern Region and the national security advisor. Since the upheavals, life has not been the same in the Dagbon area. Businesses close at 18h00 and people hurry to their homes. By 20H00, streets in Tamale and Yendi are empty, with taxi operators refusing to pick up passengers for fear of breaking the curfew. Among the worst hit by the curfew are women who made a living cooking food by the roadside nighttime travellers. They can no longer do so. Public transport companies have had to reschedule their departure times from Tamale, leaving no later than 17h30. Sources in Tamale told IRIN on 26 July that police and soldiers meant to oversee the enforcement of the curfew were harassing residents and extorting money from them. "They came into my house, switched off the television and ordered us to sleep saying that we cannot 'enjoy' life and feel comfortable in our houses while they were outside in the cold without their families," a resident of Tamale said. During the day, an uneasy calm reigns in Yendi. A stranger cannot walk around the town without permission from the police or without a police escort especially if one has to go to the palace. Even with the escort, the military manning a checkpoint a few metres from Gbewaa Palace still demand to know who and what brought the stranger to that area. The government has responded to the crisis by deploying more military and police in both Yendi and Tamale. It has also taken steps to get to the root of the problem. Ferdinand Ayim, the special assistant to the information minister, told IRIN that the government took a traditional approach by establishing a three-member council comprising the paramount chiefs of the Ashanti, Mamprugu and Gonja traditional areas which met with representatives of the Andani and Abudu clans in Accra. Due to the criminal nature of the act, the government also set up a commission of inquiry to gather information that would then determine the course of action to be taken. The commission, whose mandate was scheduled to end in August, resumed its work on 31 July after a break caused by the death of one of its members. It has overtaken the initial traditional mediation approach. The situation in Yendi was "fluid", Ayim said, adding: "The burial of the King and the appointment of his successor are major challenges to come although these are solely in the hands of the traditional laws. The government has a hands-off approach when dealing with chieftaincy issues but cannot be an onlooker when there is likely to be a breach of security." Ya Naa's body was still lying at the mortuary in Yendi as the family waited to rehabilitate the palace. After that, traditional authorities would formally announce his death and all the chiefs would gather in Yendi, a regent would be installed and the funeral would be performed. What analysts say Analysts say the Yendi crisis is a test for the Ghanaian government, especially since the search for a solution is being closely monitored not only by the feuding clans but also the numerous other chieftaincies that have disputes all over the country. "This crisis and the others in waiting not only threaten the security situations in the various areas but they directly touch state security as a whole," a source in Yendi told IRIN. "And because of the obvious political leanings in these chieftaincy disputes, they could easily sabotage the central government." There are more than 200 chieftaincy, land and religious crises in the country, he said, adding that the government "needs to do something to preempt possible catastrophe". Afi Yakubu believes that the solution to the Yendi crisis lies in the two clans holding talks to resolve their dispute with the help of leaders of other large kingdoms like the Asantehene (the king of the Ashanti) and the leaders of two groups related to the Dagomba - the Mamprusi on the border with Burkina Faso, and the Mossi, who live in the latter country. [See IRIN separate story: Ghana: Chronology of Dagbon kingship disputes.]