Police avert clash on Beposo Bridge…as over 21 suffer teargas inhalation

About 200 policemen, from the Mobile Force Unit of the Ghana Police Service in the Western Region, led by the Regional Commander, DSP Peter Ndekugri Anombugri, were on Tuesday dispatched to the Supomu-Dunkwa and Beposo communities in the Shama District, to maintain peace and order, following the flouting of a court injunction on the Dunkwa community, to desist from celebrating the Nkonu Festival.

The team's presence was to avoid a possible clash, between the people of Beposo and the Dunkwa communities, who have been battling over the issue of chieftaincy, and the celebration of the festival, one of the highly recognised festivals in the Dunkwa community.

The people of Dunkwa had attempted crossing the Beposo Bridge to a shrine near the Beposo community, to perform some rituals, to commence the celebration of the Nkonu festival, which started last Thursday, but were stopped by the chiefs and people of Beposo, who had vowed never to respect and recognize the Dunkwa Chief.

They refused to grant the Supomu-Dunkwa Chief, Nana Pansor (III), and his people permission to cross the Beposo Bridge, over the River Pra, to the shrine to perform rituals.

Anticipating trouble, the police last week instituted an investigation into the matter, and discovered looming trouble, so they quickly secured a court injunction on the festival, from a Sekondi District Magistrate court, presided over by Justice M. E. Essandoh.

However, this court order was flouted by the Dunkwa community, which dared to cross the river to perform the rituals for the commencement of the festival.

In the process, the Accra-Takoradi trunk road was blocked by the other faction, until the arrival of the police, who intervened.

Whilst they were trying to stop a possible clash between the two factions, teargas was fired at those who were being resilient. About 21 people, according to information gathered by The Chronicle, suffered tear gas inhalation.

But the Western Regional Police Commander, Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, in an interview with The Chronicle, disagreed.

According to him, only one case had been reported to his outfit.

He said one person, in that case, was reported to have suffered some amount of injury, due to the teargas which was fired, and was reported to have been rushed to the hospital.

He said apart from that case, which was under investigation by the Regional CID, there was nothing untoward about the police operation, which he said was only to maintain peace and order in the two communities.

“Our objective was to maintain peace there, and contain the situation, and nothing else,” he pointed out.

The police boss indicated that due to the entrenched position the two factions had taken, several meetings between them, and the District Security Council (DISEC), chaired by Mr. Joseph Amoah, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Shama, failed to yield results.

The Commander assured The Chronicle that the place had since remained calm and peaceful.

The Shama Traditional Area has been under great tension for the past three weeks, between the people of Beposo on one hand, and the Supomu-Dunkwa community on the other.

Whilst the Beposo community continue to swear allegiance to the Paramount Chief of Shama, Nana Kweku Binah II, the Chief of Dunkwa, Nana Pansor III, who was destooled by the Paramount Chief last year, continues to act as a chief, failing to recognise the Paramount Chief as his overlord.

The outspoken Chief, Nana Pansor III, has dug deep and remained unflinching on his position.

This is because the Chief of Beposo and his people, have also vowed never to recognise the chief, and as such have vowed never to allow him celebrate the festival, which unfortunately could not be carried out without the performance of rituals at the Beposo shrine.