Verdict of protracted Damongo chieftaincy dispute postponed again

Correspondence from Savannah Region

For the second time, the verdict of the protracted Damongo chieftaincy dispute which was billed to be announced today, Thursday, February 16, 2023, has been postponed but this time, indefinitely.

The Judicial committee of the Savannah Region House of Chiefs in a letter signed by the Registrar to the feuding factions attributed the postponement to the death of the first respondent, Yagbonwura Tutumba Boresa I.

The final verdict was supposed to be made public by the committee to bring finality to the over five years chieftaincy dispute which has derailed socioeconomic development in the area.

The Registrar of the Savannah Region House of Chiefs, Abutu Kapori in an interview with this reporter disclosed that a new Overlord must be enskinned to replace the late Yagbonwura who is the first respondent in the case before the committee.

"The Yagbonwura is the first respondent in the case and he is no more so we mourning him. The matter of legal requirement which states that if a party to a case is dead, it is important to get a replacement for the deceased. This requirement has not been fulfilled yet so we want the law to work", he explained.

This is the second time the verdict of the dispute has been postponed. It was initially scheduled to happen on Thursday, January 26 but was postponed by the Savannah Regional Security Council for unknown reasons.

Background

After the demise of the late chief of Damongo, Jakpa Lermu Tutumba Boresa I, two contenders Yakubu Imoro and Kelly Seidu emerged as the heir apparent to the vacant Damongo chieftaincy skin.

A clan known as the Kuntunkure clan of Damongo enskinned chief Kelly Seidu as the chief of Damongo but was opposed by his contender chief Yakubu Imoro who petitioned the late King and Overlord of the Gonja Kingdom.

The late King, Yagbonwura Tutumba Boresa I later passed a judgment by settling on chief Yakubu Imoro which was also rejected by chief Kelly Seidu.

Chief Kelly Seidu subsequently sent the case to the Northern Regional House of Chiefs for redress.

The case was later brought to the Savannah Regional House of Chiefs after the region was carved out of the then Northern Region.