A five-member Supreme Court panel presided over by Justice Julius Ansah has by unanimous decision dismissed a petition by the Nakpa Naa Salifu Dawuni (Petitioner), challenging the legitimacy of the occupant of the Bimbila skin, Naa Andani Dasana Abdulai (Defendant).
Nakpa Naa Salifu Dawuni, a matrilineal great-grandson to the Bimbila Skin lineage first challenged the legitimacy of the Defendant, a Patrilineal grandson to the Bimbila skin, before the NaYiri, overload of Manprugu, and lost the case. Subsequently, he appealed the ruling of the Nayiri the Regional and National House of Chiefs and lost in both forums. Not satisfied with the ruling of the two house of Chiefs, the Petitioner proceeded to the Supreme Court to seek redress.
The presiding judge and his four colleagues, Justice Anin Yeboah, Justice Baffoe Bonnie, Justice Yaw Apaw and Justice Gabriel Pwamang in the judgment read by Justice Gabriel Pwamang affirmed the decision of the two house of Chiefs that Naa Andani Dasana Abdulai was properly selected and enskined by the appropriate authority as the Regent of Bimbila.
The Court also held that Nakpa Naa Salifu Dawuni, who is a matrilineal great-grandson to the Bimbila Skin cannot be a legitimate heir to the Bimbila skin by lineage since the appropriate lineage requirement is the patrilineal lineage of sons and grandsons.
Background
The decision on who is the rightful Overlord of Bimbilla has been in dispute for years, prompting the claimants to appeal to the National House of Chiefs for adjudication.
This was after several failed attempts to get the Northern Regional House of Chiefs to rule in their favour. The claimants; the late Nakpa Naa Salifu Dawuni, appealed against the ruling of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs that affirmed Naa Andani Dasana Abdulai II as the overlord of Bimbila.
Subsequently, Naa Andani Dasana Abdula was murdered by unknown assailants, while the case was pending at the National House of Chiefs. The murder of the overlord led to some unrest in the area and the developments compelled the Minister of Interior to impose a 12-hour curfew on the town.
However, the Regional House of Chiefs in their ruling in October 2014 declared the late Naa Andani Dasana Abdula as the rightful heir. The Naakpa Dawuni faction however decided to head to the Supreme Court to seek finality on the matter.
Source: Ghana/StarrFMonline.com/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare
