Apologise over your unfortunate chieftaincy commentary — Bawku Assembly Member chases Martin Kpebu

An Assembly Member for the Gingande Electoral Area in the Bawku Municipality, Hon. David Adoliba, has issued a public call to private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, urging him to reconsider recent comments he made regarding the long standing Bawku chieftaincy dispute.

In a strongly worded statement addressed directly to the lawyer, Mr Adoliba expressed what he described as deep concern and disappointment over Mr Kpebu’s public posture on the matter.

He noted that as a lawyer of national standing, Mr Kpebu’s words carry significant influence and shape public opinion, particularly on sensitive national issues.

According to the Assembly Member, the Bawku chieftaincy dispute is not a casual subject for media debate but a deeply sensitive matter that has passed through courts of competent jurisdiction, judicial inquiries and high level mediation efforts over several decades.

He stressed that the conflict has cost lives and left families grieving, with communities still living in tension.

“In such a fragile environment, precision, restraint and professional neutrality are not optional — they are a duty,” Mr Adoliba stated.

While acknowledging that every lawyer has the constitutional right to represent a client, he argued that legal representation should not translate into public commentary that appears to prejudge history, undermine established processes or inflame tensions.

He said there is a clear distinction between courtroom advocacy and public pronouncements that risk deepening divisions in an already volatile situation.

The Assembly Member took particular issue with what he described as the use of certain titles and characterisations in public discourse, arguing that such choices of words have real consequences.

“Words can either calm tensions or aggravate them and the path you chose is not to calm tension,” he said, adding that the remarks in question sounded insulting not only to His Majesty the Zug Raan, Bawku Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, but also to the people of Kusaug and stakeholders working toward peace in Bawku.

Mr Adoliba maintained that lawyers of high repute are bound not only to their clients but also to the broader integrity of Ghana’s justice system and the preservation of peace.

He therefore called on Mr Kpebu to reconsider both the tone and substance of his public pronouncements on the Bawku issue, clarify his position in a manner that promotes stability rather than polarisation, and render what he described as an unqualified apology to the Zug Raan.

He specifically referenced public commentary in which Mr Kpebu reportedly referred to Alhaji Seidu Abagre Naa Shiriga in a manner that he said heightened tensions in Bawku.

Mr Adoliba argued that even lay observers who followed the mediation efforts led by Otumfour Osei Tutu II would not have made such statements.

He emphasised that his call was not driven by hostility but by conscience, insisting that Bawku needs responsible voices rather than rhetoric.

“Ghana does not need more polarization. It needs leadership grounded in law, restraint and respect for due process,” he stated.

The Assembly Member concluded by urging Mr Kpebu to exercise his influence wisely in the interest of peace and national cohesion.

Below is full statement:
A CALL ON LAWYER MARTIN KPEBU
Dear Lawyer Martin Kpebu,
I address you directly as a community leader and without malice, but with deep concern and disappointment.You are a lawyer of national standing. Your words carry weight. Your commentary shapes public perception. That is precisely why your recent posture on the Bawku chieftaincy matter is troubling.

The Bawku issue is not a casual media debate. It is a matter that has passed through courts of competent jurisdiction, judicial inquiries, and high-level mediation efforts over many decades. It is a matter that has cost lives — real human lives. Families are grieving. Communities remain on edge.

In such a fragile environment, precision, restraint and professional neutrality are not optional — they are a duty.While every lawyer has the constitutional right to defend a client, no lawyer is compelled to frame public commentary in a manner that appears to prejudge history, undermine settled processes, or inflame an already volatile situation. There is a clear line between legal representation and public advocacy that risks deepening division.

When titles and characterizations are used publicly in a matter that remains highly sensitive, it is not a trivial choice of words. It has consequences. Words can either calm tensions or aggravate them and the path you chose is not to calm tension, as such, I wonder what you seek to achieve in all these, your choice of words now sound insulting not only to His Majesty the ZUG- RAAN Bawku Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, but the entire people of Kusaug and all stakeholders working towards peace building in Bawku.

As a Lawyer of good repute, you are bound not only to your client, but to the broader integrity of Ghana’s justice system and the preservation of peace. Public commentary from a lawyer of your caliber must reflect balance, intellectual honesty and awareness of the national implications. I therefore call on you, in the interest of peace and professional responsibility, to:

●Reconsider the tone and substance of your public pronouncements on the Bawku matter;

●Clarify your position in a way that promotes stability rather than polarization;

●Render an unqualified apology to the Zug- raan, Bawku Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, on your public commentary in which you made a pronouncement calling Alhaji Seidu Abagre Naa Shiriga, which heightened tensions in Bawku recently. Even laymen who followed His Majesty Otumfour Osei Tutu II mediation report wouldn’t make such statements that you did.

This call is not driven by hostility. It is driven by conscience. Bawku does not need more rhetoric. It needs responsible voices. Ghana does not need more polarization. It needs leadership grounded in law, restraint and respect for due process.History will remember those who exercised influence wisely — and those who did not.

I urge you to choose wisely.
Signed.
HON. DAVID ADOLIBA
ASSEMBLY MEMBER-GINGANDE ELECTORAL AREA.
BAWKU MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY