Mamprugu Chief rejects Bawku mediation report, cautions gov't against enforcement

Pulse Staff 12:59 - 17 December 2025

The Nayiri, Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, Overlord of Mamprugu

The Nayiri, Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, Overlord of Mamprugu, has formally rejected the mediation report presented by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on the Bawku Chieftaincy Dispute, describing it as flawed, biased, and procedurally unsound.

In a statement released on 17 December 2025, the Nayiri said the report presented to President John Dramani Mahama on 16 December “does not reflect my engagements with Otumfuo, nor those of my duly constituted mediation team. I therefore formally reject the report and recommendations in its entirety.”

He argued that the report “purports to pass judgment and to prescribe measures for enforcement, acts wholly inconsistent with the nature, limits, and essence of mediation,” adding, “At no point were the parties invited to engage with, comment on, or respond to the conclusions said to have been reached.”

Criticising what he described as factual inaccuracies and bias, the Nayiri stated:

The report is replete with personal assertions attributed to the mediator and manifestly favours one party’s narrative while almost entirely omitting Mamprugu’s case. It is entirely false to suggest that I ever agreed to the continued recognition of Aninchema as Bawku Naba.

Addressing government involvement, he warned:

I am further alarmed by statements suggesting that the government intends to issue a definitive position within twenty-four hours based on this report. Such an approach will not advance the peace we all seek. I urge the President to engage fully with all parties and with the mediator before taking any action founded upon this deeply flawed document.

Bawku is in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Defending Mamprugu’s interests, he emphasised:

Not even an inch of Mamprugu’s ancestral heritage will be ceded to anyone, especially through an unjust and clearly orchestrated process, I entreat all within Mamprugu to continue to remain calm and law-abiding. I stress that this so-called mediation ended in a clear DEADLOCK, with no consensus reached between the parties.

He added:

It was therefore my reasonable expectation that any mediation report would remain within the limits prescribed by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 795), by reporting the deadlock rather than purporting to reach final determinations or legal conclusions—especially where law was never argued, and where the mediator is neither judge nor arbitrator.

The Nayiri concluded that further engagement with Otumfuo and the Government of Ghana will continue, promising a comprehensive statement in due course.

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