THE CORONATION of a new chief imam at Ashaiman to succeed the late Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko was disrupted after a gunshot was fired by an unknown assailant.

The guests ran for their lives after a short stampede at Night Market, an Ashaiman suburb where the ceremony was taking place, bringing the enskinment to a premature halt.

Alhaji Mustapha Sissi Haruna, the successor was later sheltered and led through the crowd by his supporters and natives of the area to prevent him from being shot or attacked.

Earlier, the coronation which was also to mark the 40th day since the burial of the late chief imam who died on June 9 after reigning for 18 years saw some irate youth creating disorder but no casualty was recorded.

Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicated the gunshot was allegedly fired by some Gonja indigenes to express their displeasure over two persons suspected to have been selected to deputize for the new chief imam.

The two deputies, Mallam Ali Umar and Alhaji Abubakar Sadat Ibrahim, first and second deputies respectively, were reportedly unqualified for the position since they were Dagombas.

The right selection process, according to the information was not followed by the Muslim kingmakers since persons from the Gonja clan should have rather deputized for the new chief imam.

Some irate youth allegedly Gonja indigenes disrupted the celebration which led to fighting among themselves but later a representative of the Gonja clan appeared at the programme to calm nerves.

Chief Superintendent David Eklu, Ashaiman Divisional Commander told the paper police personnel had been dispatched to the area to restore order adding “we are closely monitoring the situation to ensure stability among the Muslim community and Ashaiman as a whole.”

According to Chief Superintendent Eklu who was one of the guests at the coronation ceremony, his outfit was in consultation with the two factions and was optimistic the situation will not get out of control.

Information gathered as at press time was that Alhaji Haruna was later installed as the new Chief Imam for Ashaiman after calm had returned to the area.