President John Dramani Mahama-led government is expected to take a definitive position on the long-awaited Bawku Peace Mediation Report within the nex
President John Dramani Mahama-led government is expected to take a definitive position on the long-awaited Bawku Peace Mediation Report within the next 24 hours, as the President moves to signal decisive state action following the conclusion of high-level traditional mediation led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
President Mahama made the commitment on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at the Jubilee House in Accra, shortly after the Asantehene formally presented the report that culminates months of mediation efforts aimed at resolving the decades-old Bawku chieftaincy conflict.
Describing the submission as a critical milestone, the President assured that the report would not be shelved or subjected to prolonged bureaucratic delay.
“I am pleased that this mediation has come to an end and that a report has been presented,” President Mahama said in his address.
“I can assure Otumfuo and the people of Ghana that government will study the report, and within the next 24 hours, we will issue a statement outlining our definitive position.”
The mediation process was initiated earlier in 2025 after renewed violence in Bawku and surrounding communities claimed lives, displaced residents and further deepened mistrust between the Mamprusi and Kusasi factions.
The conflict, which has its roots in colonial-era chieftaincy arrangements and competing claims to the Bawku skin, has endured for decades despite multiple judicial rulings, commissions of inquiry and security interventions.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, appointed by the presidency to chair a special peace committee, held extensive consultations with traditional leaders, youth groups, legal representatives and opinion leaders from both sides.
The process culminated on December 1, 2025, with a rare face-to-face meeting between delegations of the Nayiri, Overlord of Mamprugu, and the Bawku Naaba, Zugraan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
Beyond committing to a swift governmental response, President Mahama stressed that the submission of the report should mark the beginning—not the end—of sustained reconciliation.
He called for continued engagement by key national institutions, including the National Peace Council, the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs, religious bodies and Otumfuo himself, to facilitate direct dialogue between the Nayiri and the Bawku Naaba.
“It is my hope that this report becomes a foundation for deeper reconciliation,” the President said, “and that all stakeholders continue the engagement necessary to bring lasting peace between the two groups.”
Significantly, the report contains what the Asantehene described as a final, non-negotiable recommendation anchored firmly in the constitutional and legal framework.
Addressing the President, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II called on the government to strictly enforce existing laws that recognise Zugraan Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate Chief of Bawku and head of the Kusasi Traditional Area.
He cited the Restoration of Status of Chiefs Law, PNDC Law 75 of 1983, and the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling, which consolidated Naba Azoka II’s status, stressing that no traditional authority stands above the Constitution.
“We chiefs, no matter how exalted, do not live above the Constitution of Ghana and the laws duly enacted and affirmed by the courts,” Otumfuo stated, urging the Nayiri, Naa Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, to accept the current legal position and refrain from actions that could reignite violence.
The report places the ultimate responsibility for peace on the Executive arm of government, calling for firm and impartial enforcement of the law against any individual or group that seeks to challenge the legally recognised authority in Bawku.
According to the Asantehene, ambiguity or political hesitation would only prolong the cycle of violence that has claimed hundreds of lives, particularly since late 2021.
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