Abide by rulings - Peace Council, chiefs tell Bimbilla parties
The National Peace Council (NPC) and the National House of Chiefs (NHC) have called on parties in the Bimbilla disputes to abide by whatever decision the Supreme Court would arrive at in the Bimbilla chieftaincy matter currently pending before it.
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The NPC and the NHC have meanwhile reminded all stakeholders involved in the case to abide by all judicial decisions on the matter while waiting for the final determination of the Supreme Court.
They have, therefore, appealed to the Chief Justice to, as a matter of urgency, ensure early determination of the case.
The two institutions also implored the state actors (the law enforcement agencies) to enforce the judgements of the courts and judicial committees of the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs to promote peace and development in the country.
These were carried in a press statement signed by the President of the NPC, Professor Emmanuel Asante, and the President of the NHC, Togbe Afede XIV, after a meeting of the two institutions at Golden Tulip in Kumasi.
In attendance were Standing Committees of the NHC and the NPC, as well as representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and others.
First of its kind
The meeting, which was the first of its kind by the two institutions, was organised primarily to share ideas and experiences on how the two could bring their wisdom, strength, resources and others together to facilitate the resolution of the many chieftaincy disputes plaguing the country.
Funded by the UNDP, the meeting was also to identify situations for early warning signals that were likely to create potential violence and provide appropriate responses in future.
Another objective was to identify opportunities for collaboration among other things by the two institutions.
Bimbilla crisis
The meeting paid particular attention to the Bimbilla crisis which had become intermittent and was claiming the lives of innocent women and children.
It urged politicians to stop interfering in chieftaincy matters and also refrain from encouraging chieftaincy disputants to flout decisions of the NHC and the courts.
The two parties also decided that the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs should prepare a database of all chieftaincy cases pending before them, indicating the reliefs parties were seeking and the stages the cases had reached. This data is to be updated as when a new case is filed or a case is determined.
Another issue the meeting advocated for was public awareness creation and education by the NHC and the NPC on chieftaincy matters for the security agencies, the Judiciary and other stakeholders to be abreast of the nuances of the institution, and to distinguish between chieftaincy matters and criminal offences committed in the name of chieftaincy.
It also recommended that the media should be circumspect in their reportage of chieftaincy matters without sensationalising them and urged the management of media houses to build the capacity of their media men and women on reporting on sensitive matters.
The meeting urged litigants to refrain from hiding behind politicians to flout decisions that were not in their favour and urged the police to treat persons who commit crimes in the name of chieftaincy as criminals.
