Political involvement fuelling chieftaincy disputes in Ghana – Council of State Member

The Paramount Chief of Asante Asokore, Nana Susibiribi Krobea Asante has cited political influence as one of the fuelling factors in chieftaincy disputes being recorded in the country and the slow pace such cases are being resolved.

Dr S. K. B. Asante speaking on Joynews’s Personality Profile monitored by GhanaWeb noted that political influence in chieftaincy disputes disrupts peace and

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“The proliferation of chieftaincy disputes to disturb the peace is a matter of concern to us, however, sometimes there are certain factors which inflame the dispute. One is political involvement.

“During my lifetime, I have seen chiefs deposed because they belong to one particular political party in those days and others reinstated because they belong to some political party. So the involvement of politics in chieftaincy perpetrate chieftaincy dispute,” he stated.

Despite the government’s efforts at putting in place structures that help resolve chieftaincy disputes in the country, the Paramount Chief stated that some judicial processes including the involvement of High Courts in chieftaincy matters tend to complicate the management of such issues.

According to him, a High Court lacks jurisdiction in settling chieftaincy disputes.

“If you look at practice, you will see that something which should proceed from the traditional council has been complicated because there has been a reference to a High Court. The court does not intervene, and try to resolve it in a way which is not appropriate,” he said.

He averred that the most efficient role judicial bodies can play in handling chieftaincy disputes is to supervise local authorities through the prerogative press over inferior adjudicating bodies including the judicial committee.