Ashanti Regional Minister calls emergency meeting over killing of Kusasi Chief

• Dr. Frank Amoakohene, Ashanti Regional Minister calls emergency REGSEC meeting over killing of Kusasi Chief. 
• The meeting aims at finding lasting solutions to the such crimes in the region and beyond 

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, has called an emergency Regional Security Council (REGSEC) meeting following the fatal shooting of the Kusasi Chief, Naba Abdul-Malik Azenbe, at his residence in Asawase, Kumasi.

The Minister made the announcement on his Facebook page on Wednesday, July 23, stating, “I have called an emergency REGSEC meeting over the shooting taking the life of the Kusasi Chief. Our condolences to the family. Further directives will be issued after the meeting.”

The Kusasi Chief was shot by unidentified gunmen around 7:45pm on Tuesday, July 22.

Eyewitnesses say two men on separate motorbikes fired at him using what is believed to be an AK-47 rifle. The chief was rushed to Manhyia District Hospital and later transferred to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police have begun investigations and retrieved two spent AK-47 shells from the scene. The Regional Police Commander and other senior officers have visited the area.

Naba Abdul-Malik Azenbe had been enstooled just three months ago as a Kusasi Chief in the region. He was also a divisional chief in the Kaadi area in the Binduri District of the Upper East Region. His death has raised concerns about possible tensions in the community.

The Bawku conflict is a long-standing chieftaincy and land ownership dispute between the Kusasi and Mamprusi ethnic groups in Bawku, Ghana. It centers around the paramountcy of the Bawku traditional area and claims of who has the right to occupy the position. The conflict has resulted in violent clashes, loss of life, and displacement of residents.

The conflict has its roots in the colonial era, particularly with the British colonial administration’s indirect rule system.

The British appointed a paramount chief in Bawku, who held authority over both Kusasi and Mamprusi communities, leading to contestation over the position.

The Kusasi people claim they are the indigenous group and that their settlement in Bawku predates the Mamprusi.