Teshie conflict turns bloody
One person died, while three others suffered injuries, following clashes between two factions in the protracted chieftaincy dispute at Teshie in Accra in the early hours of Thursday.
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The incident, which happened at dawn, was the result of an attempt by one of the claimants to the stool, the Trebi We, to install a chief.
The deceased was identified only as Kofi, aged 29, while Robert Quaye, 21, Okanta Abbey, 28, and a 20-year-old man whose name was given as Akpo, sustained various degrees of injury in the resultant melee.
The injured were sent to the Police Hospital under police escort.
Thurday’s incident disturbed the peace in Teshie, an otherwise calm fishing community.
The bloody confrontation was said to have been spearheaded by a group of land guards hired by the Trebi We to assist it to install a retired Naval captain, whose name was given only as Ashitey, as the new chief for the town.
As early as 5:30 a.m. or thereabouts, the group, numbering about 100, was said to have stormed the Teshie Palace to assist the Trebi We to install their chief.
Since 1984 when Nii Akonfra, the then chief, passed away, Teshie has been without a chief.
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The three gates — the Ashitey We, the Okpong We and the Ashikwe We — have since then not agreed on which of the gates should nominate a new chief.
The chieftaincy dispute, which spans almost three decades, has thus created a leadership vacuum in the town, which, according to some sources, provided the opportunity for the Trebi We, said to be a group of settlers, which is claiming to be one of the gates to the stool, to provide a candidate to occupy the vacant stool.
According to unconfirmed reports, when the group of land guards stormed the palace, the youth of the town went to the palace to confront them.
Meanwhile, it was rumoured that the group, armed with guns, machetes and other dangerous weapons, were visiting schools in the town to attack students and teachers.
School activities in the community were thus disrupted, as teachers, pupils and students fled the schools to take cover. Parents were also said to have rushed to the schools to pick up their children.
It turned out that reports that circuit supervisors of education had ordered the closure of schools in Teshie were false.
The police, who arrived after the clashes had taken place, arrested four suspects to assist them in their investigations.
They are Eric Narh, 25; Baba Talatu, 25; Ismailla Nii Annor, 45, and Nii Armah Ogidi, 35.
When the Daily Graphic visited Teshie Manjanor, the scene of the clashes, pieces of broken bottles and cement blocks were strewn around, while the roofs of some nearby houses, including the chief’s palace, had been damaged.
Residents were seen in groups discussing the clashes and the chieftaincy dispute, which some said was also responsible for the under-development of the area.
According to the Head of the Ashikwe We, Nii Ashai Abui, they were in their homes when they heard that the Trebi We had brought land guards to the palace to provide protection for the performance of customs for the installation of their chief.
“We heard it and went there to verify, only to find that it was true. Our people also heard it and mobilised themselves and confronted the intruder, resulting in the clashes,” he said.
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A resident of Teshie, Nii Armah Ashitey Rasta, said the people would resist any attempt by outsiders to impose a chief on them.
Another resident, Nii Ashitey Brukoy, who expressed anger at the turn of events, said, “The chieftaincy dispute has negatively affected the development of the town, since there is no chief to lead the people.”
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Christian Yohuno, who visited the area, warned that the police would not allow any group of people to disturb the peace.
Story: Emmanuel Bonney