We won't bury Ya-na - Andani

Tamale, Nov. 22, Lens -- The Andani Family has said that the Ya-Na will not buried until the cultural artifacts in the possession of the Abudus are retrieved.

Addressing a news conference in Tamale on Tuesday, the Secretary to the Andani Family, Andani Mahama, said burying the late king without the artifacts would constitute an internment without traditional honors.

Mr. Mahama chronicled a litany of the dramatic events ranging from the three-day intense fighting which culminated in the death of the king and 40 others, without the intervention of the security agencies; the setting up of the Wuako Commission by Government, which the Andanis described as "a political chimera"; the rehabilitation and the invasion of the old Gbewa palace by the Abudus; and the refusal of the Abudus to return the cultural artifacts of the late king.

Other issues were the Otunfuo Committee of Eminent Chiefs, whose decisions the Andanis said are being arrogantly challenged by the Abudus; problems associated with the construction of the temporary palace; and the ORDER NUMBER ONE of the Supreme Court ruling of December 1986, which states in part that the rotation system in the Yendi chieftaincy affairs must be scrupulously observed.

Mr. Mahama said since the Ya-Na did not die a natural death, the Supreme Court order ruling of 1986 cannot be upheld, saying that, "any attempt by any body to do so will be fiercely resisted."

Mr. Mahama questioned why the demolition of the old palace has not yet taken place even though the Otunfuo Commission approved of it. He accused the government of not offering the much-needed support to the committee to enforce its decisions. He wondered why 32 months after the carnage not a single person has been identified to have committed the crime.

Mr. Mahama claimed that the Wuako Commission established that Yidaba Sugri was seen with the arm of the late Ya-Na, while Bolin Lana Mahamadu Abduliai, was presented with the severed head of the Ya-Na , and wondered whether there are not sufficient evidence for their arrest and prosecution.

Mr. Mahama challenged the Interior Minister, Hackman Owusu Agyeman, to provide answers as to who did the Video filming he watched, when it was done, what its intent was and who were captured in the video. Mr. Mahama called on the Government to support the Otunfuo Committee to retrieve all weapons used in the attack on the Gbewa palace and demolish the old Gbewa Palace.