Kusasi and Mamprusi residents living in Kumasi have formally committed to a peace agreement aimed at preventing the spread of the Bawku conflict into the Ashanti Region.
The decision comes after a series of violent incidents in July, including the killing of the Kusasi Chief of Ashanti, Abdul-Malik Azenbe, in front of his residence, and the death of another Kusasi man at Sabon Zongo in the Asawase constituency.
Security sources have linked these shootings to the long-standing Bawku dispute, prompting heightened vigilance in Asawase, Manhyia, and surrounding areas.
In response, the Ashanti Regional Security Council, chaired by Regional Minister Dr. Frank Amoakohene, set up a committee to investigate the killings and engage both communities.
The committee found indications that the violence was connected to tensions in Bawku, leading to consultations with Kusasi and Mamprusi leaders and the creation of a memorandum of understanding to prevent revenge attacks and promote peaceful coexistence.
On Thursday, September 11, 2025, the leaders of both communities came together at the Ashanti Central Police Command to sign the peace pact. DSP Godwin Ahianyo, Head of Public Relations at the command, explained the process:
“Recently, we had some disturbances in Asawase and its enclave. And people were pointing accusatory fingers and other things. So the Regional Coordinating Council, led by the Regional Minister, set up a committee to meet the two groups, as in the Kusasi and the Mamprusi. And then listen to them, after which there will be an MOU that both parties will sign, in order to have a very peaceful coexistence in the region.
“So this morning at 10:00 a.m. both parties were here, and then the committee met them, and then had some form of discussion, after which they asked them to sign a memorandum of understanding that will bring a very lasting, peaceful kind of coexistence between the two groups.
“So basically, that was why this meeting came on today at the Regional Headquarters, at the Al-Asad Conference Hall.”
Leaders of the Kusasi and Mamprusi communities, including Ashanti Regional Vice Chairman of the Mamprusi Youth Association, Tufeiru, and Chairman of the Kusasi Chiefs Association of Ashanti Region, Naaba Winyellesom Ndeego, pledged to foster unity and peaceful interaction.
“Today’s meeting was to sign a peace treaty agreement between the Mamprusi and the Kusasi, and we have done so. We have been tasked to go home and advise our people to see each other as brothers and sisters.
“We are not importing any conflict from Bawku or anywhere to the Ashanti Region, or Kumasi to be precise. Because we are here for businesses, we have agreed that each community to conduct business peacefully without any violence.”
Security officials have encouraged both factions to provide timely information that could help prevent further clashes, emphasizing that the sustainability of peace will rely on active community cooperation.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
