Chief, One Of Four Persons In Bimoba-Konkomba Clash At Large

N/R Minister, Moses Mabengba

The Northern Regional Minister, Moses Bukari Mabengba, has given a hint that a chief of one of the rival factions of the recent violent clash between Konkombas and Bimobas in the Bunkprugu-Yunyoo District is one of four persons currently on the run.

Even though the Minister would not mention any name, he said four persons made up of both Konkombas and Bimobas had been identified as suspects and were currently at large, while one person had been arrested for illegally possessing two locally manufactured guns.

Mr. Mabengba who is Chairman of the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) told the media at a press briefing on Tuesday June 12, 2012 at the Regional Coordinating Council. 

Additionally, he disclosed that 91 houses were burnt, 8 people sustained gun injuries whilst 3 died as a result of the clash.

It would be recalled that there was a communal clash between the Bimobas on one hand and the Konkombas on the other, at Kpemale, a farming community near Nakpanduri in the Bunkprugu-Yunyoo District over land boundary.

The skirmishes which started on Sunday June 3, 2012, would have escalated into a fully blown conflict, but for the timely intervention of security agencies, the Minister said. 

While it (REGSEC) unequivocally condemned the wanton destruction of properties and unleashing of various degrees of injuries to law abiding citizens in Kpemale and Nakpanduri, the Minister cautioned the perpetrators of such heinous act that REGSEC would not condone such lawlessness within the society.

According to him, reports emanating from a meeting held with the East Mamprusi and Bunkprugu-Yunyoo District Security Committees in a recent tour of the conflict zone, pointed out strongly the land expansionist ambitions of the Nakpanduri Chief, David Kansok, which culminated in his blatant refusal and disregard to recognize an existing boundary between his area of jurisdiction, at Nakpanduri and that of Kpemale Chief, Nimoar Nbalim. 

Mr. Mabengba stated that it emerged strongly that the chief of Nakpanduri had made attempts to install a rival chief at Kpemale for Bimobas to pay homage to him. But this he revealed was resisted by the people and condemned by the Nayiri, the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area (whose jurisdiction covers the entire West and East Mamprusi Districts as well as Bunkprugu-Yunyoo). “The meetings with the DISECs and the Nayiri offered an opportunity to debunk earlier claims made by the Nakpanduri chief on an Accra based radio station that the conflict escalated as a result of slow response by REGSEC to deploy security men to the area. The evidence proved to the contrary. The reinforcement and deployment of troops was quite swift and timely”, the minister maintained.

The Northern Regional Minister further stated that the Nayiri was equally unhappy about the intransigence of the Nakpanduri chief not to respect the boundary of their traditional area and with a penchant desire to infiltrate into other areas with view of expanding his (traditional) area of chiefdom. “The Nayiri also corroborated the information picked by REGSEC that the Nakpanduri chief has ever attempted to install a Bimoba chief at Kpemale for the Bimoba Community to owe allegiance to him. Nyairi however made it clear that he (Nakpanduri chief) had no mandate to enskin a chief at that area.”

Chief David Kansok

Mr. Moses Bukari Mabengba stated that the security agencies were on top of the security situation in the area and that calm had been restored. He called on all those who were still hiding in the bush to return and assured residents of the entire region especially those in Kpemale, Nakpanduri and Tishegu (Tamale) where one person died following a chieftaincy dispute that their security was of maximum concern and everything would be done to achieve this objective. 

Meanwhile when contacted, the Chief of Nakpanduri described the claims by REGSEC and the Regional Minister as bogus, saying he had jurisdiction over Nakpanduri and its surrounding areas including Kpemale that had become the subject of violent clash between his people and settlers there known as Kombas. 

He further explained that Kpemale had always been under Nakpanduri since the days of his great grandfathers and that only a river separates the two areas.   

In setting the record straight, he said people make the mistake by calling the settlers Konkombas instead of Kombas. According to him, Konkombas are a tribal grouping found in Saboba and other parts of the eastern corridor area and that they were different from Kombas though their languages sounded a bit similar. 

Adding, Chief David Kansok said he had jurisdiction over Kpemale, explaining that the recent clash was as a result of an encroachment on a school land by the settlers and not him. They (Kombas) had been asked by the Nayiri to stop encroaching on the school land, a directive they complied with until recently they decided to go against it by causing mayhem in the area. 

Chief Kansok also disclosed that there were 31 houses in Kpemale that belonged to the Kombas whilst the rest of 159 houses belonged to Bimobas. Out of the 31 houses that belonged to the Kombas, 23 were razed down following the bloody violence whilst 125 houses out of the 159 that belonged to the Bimobas also got burnt.