Last Friday, there were some preventable clashes at Battor Dugame, the capital of the North Tongu District.  About four (4) people were gunned down to death and one (1) person was said to be in a critical condition. The clashes were said to be the result of intra clan disputes within the Kpele Clan of Battor. There were gory and disturbing images posted on social media. 

2022 Battor Hogbeza Foiled

Made up of five (5) Clans or Divisions namely Teh (Eteh), Kpele, Kornorkuxor, Gblevie and Sohe, Battor is one of the 13 independent traditional areas of Tongu, and it celebrates a festival called Hogbeza in December every year. 

Sadly,the initiated 2022 Hogbeza of the people of Battor could not be climaxed with a durbar this year due to the clashes and killings at Battor Dugame. Battor RC Primary School Park, the venue for the annual durbars was instead taken over by the Formed Police Unit (FPU) to forestall further mayhem.

It is trite knowledge that most of the 13 independent paramountcies in Tongu (North, South and Central) have prolonged chieftaincy disputes. These unending disputes tend to center around who becomes a paramount chief of an area or which lineage's candidate must have a turn for a reign. Perhaps the Battor chieftaincy dispute is the most prolonged in Tongu, with Mafi and Mepe following suit. 

Since most of these cases are in court and I do not want to breach the sub judice rule to have committed contempt of court, I wouldn't want to comment on the details of such cases. The sad thing is that even though chieftaincy has been a respected institution our forebears left behind for us in Ghana, the contemporary generations have not only been  greedy in managing this sacred institution but also choose to kill one another just because royal families are not able to have an agreement as to who or what lineage must occupy a stool. In most traditional areas in Tongu, there appears to be no documented succession plans and because occupancy of the stools is not necessarily based on primogeniture, several lineages and royal relatives claim to be the next to occupy a stool after a reigning chief die.

In fact, some of the traditional areas in Tongu have multiple paramount chiefs even though each traditional area has only one paramount stool. This is because different candidates were installed and out doored as paramount chiefs. The overall effect is that the indigenes end up not holding allegiance to any of the embattled chiefs. The royal centre of control, therefore, cannot hold, making mere anarchy and mayhem lose upon those traditional areas including Battor.

Prolonged Chieftaincy Dispute

In the case of Battor, the Kpele and Sohe Clans have been disputing over the paramount stool for so many years and for some time now, a Kpele chief, Torgbe Patamia Dzekle VII has been publicly addressed as the Paramount Chief of Battor. The paramountcy had been rotating between Kpele and Sohe, albeit disputes surrounding it. It would be recalled, for example, that the late Torgbe Dzekle VI was from Kpele Clan whereas the late Torgbe Torkla IV was from Sohe; both of them were once paramount chiefs of Battor in different times. The current occupant of the stool is Torgbe Patamia Dzekle VII from Kpele Clan.

Kpele Fighting itself

Surprisingly, the current clashes that led to four (4) deaths happened not between Sohe and Kpele Clans as it used to be. Rather, it occurred within the Kpele Clan itself. One big royal family is fighting and killing its members. The clashes were said to be pursuant to alleged destoolment rituals performed by the stool father, Zikpoetor Korsi Hottor to dethrone the paramount chief, Torgbe Patamia VII. Allegedly, the destoolment rites were performed because Torgbe Patamia breached certain customs and traditions of the people of Battor. Be that as it may, it should not have led to the killings, but it appears there were deeper undercurrents. The clashes erupted between the supporters of Torgbe Patamia and those of his stool father, Zikpoetor Hottor.

Are crocodiles eating their own young ones hence they would not spare the eggs of a chicken? Whatever it is termed, the erstwhile cordial relationship between Torgbe Patamia and his stool father has become frosty, leading to the killings. It is proper and important that the authorities move tactically and sustainably to stem any further clashes between the supporters of the two feuding parties.  

Swift Police Intervention Commendable   

But for the swift intervention of the Police with numerous arrests, there would have been further clashes and murders at Battor Dugame. Even that, the police need to be more vigilant and to also engage the feuding parties to disarm to ultimately bring total peace to Battor. No area develops with such disputes and turmoil. 

Why Battor is important to others

Perhaps what the feuding parties do not know is that for two main reasons, Battor Dugame is not important to only the people of Battor. If for nothing at all, Battor is very important for political and healthcare delivery purposes in Tongu.  Politically, it is the capital of the North Tongu District hence all the Tongu districts and communities do come to transact one business or another at Battor. In terms of healthcare delivery, Battor’s

famous Catholic Hospital serves many communities in Tongu and beyond. If the clashes are allowed to prolong or escalate, people will find it difficult to access curative healthcare at the Battor Hospital and this may lead to preventable deaths including but not limited to maternal and neonatal deaths.

It is for these reasons that the feuding parties must not be myopic regarding the ramifications of their murderous actions. They should be mindful of the far-reaching cascading effects of their actions on the other communities accessing healthcare at the Catholic Hospital, Battor. Prolonged clashes at Battor may equally compel the government to impose curfew on the area.

 Aside that, health, and other workers at Battor who are not from the area may run for dear life and abandon their duty posts if the situation escalates. I say so because natural human behaviour follows the guide that in the face of adversity or danger, there is irrepressible instinct or urge to survive and human beings are likely to strive including escaping for survival.

Conclusion

The worrying clashes within the Kpele Clan of Battor do not need cosmetic measures that will just scratch the surface of the root causes of the present animosity between Torgbe Patamia and Zikpoetor Hottor.

To this end therefore, I call on the District Security Council (DISEC) of North Tongu to intensify their efforts and calm nerves to restore peace in Battor.  I equally pray that the Police and other key members of North Tongu DISEC will not take sides in their bids to restore peace and harmony. 

At the same time, the elders of Kpele must ensure that they abandon their weapons and mount a negotiation table to iron out their differences. No community develops with mayhem, so we need peace at Battor. The unfortunate happenings at Battor with the resultant deaths should equally be a wakeup call for the other traditional areas in Tongu engulfed in chieftaincy disputes. Chieftaincy thrives on peace and not on clashes. It is disgraceful and retrogressing to allow petty misunderstandings to escalate to the point of killing one another because of a chieftaincy stool. Life is the most precious gift hence in Ecclesiastes 9:4, Bible says that a living dog is better off than a dead lion. The youth of Battor and the entire Tongu must unite and refuse to be dragged into such needless disputes originated by the older folks.

A useful chieftaincy stool must be an object of peace, unity, and development. It must not be reduced to an object of violent clashes that end precious lives just for someone to occupy the stool.

I dare sign out that royal families in Tongu and elsewhere must eschew cynicism and always remember that ensuring the welfare and happiness of the people is the cardinal duty of royals and this duty must persistently question the inner conscience of our chiefs and kingmakers so long as they lead. After all, there is no bigger rule than humanity itself.  

~Asante Sana~

Philip Afeti Korto

afetikorto@yahoo.com