Chieftaincy Disputes in the Pai Traditional Area by Peter King Ginaye the Regional Police Commander





By


Kwabena Agyekum,


Adenta-Accra





The Cabinet approved in July 2008 a total of GHc 138 million as compensation to be paid to various stools and some families affected by the flooding of the Vota Basin by the construction of the Akosombo dam. The payment of the compensation by the Government of Ghana (GoG) from 2009 through 2013 went to undeserving claimants most of whom presented fraudulent maps and documents to the Lands Valuation Division (LVD) of the Lands Commission. The method used by the Land Commission for payment allowed people with questionable motives to make claims, which have led to tension, violence and chieftaincy disputes in the Pai Traditional area in the Krachi East District.





A fraudulent group consisting of some claimants from the Pai Traditional and Krachiwura Nana Mprah Besemuna III, who is the kingpin formed an "Association of VR Flooded Lands Compensation Claimants" (Association) to serve as a conduit to siphon 15% of GHc 138 million into a "VL REIMBURSABLE FUND". Krachiwura Nana Mprah Besemuna III and a destooled chief of the Pai Traditional area, Nana Diawuo Bediaako II, are two of the three signatories to the "VL REIMBURSABLE FUND" account. With the payment of GHc 71 million of the compensation so far (from 2009 through 2013) by the GoG, the Association has received approximately GHc 10 million (15 % of the GHc 71 million) from the LVD. This huge sum of fraudulently acquired money is helping the Association not only to achieve its objective of using the fund to "...facilitate and procure an early, expeditious and timely release and payment by GoG of the agreed tranches of compensation..." but primarily "support" the destooled chief Nana Diawuo Bediako II. This said support has included compromising judges and security personnel of the police in the Pai Traditional area in the Volta Region. The unfortunate results have been creation of confusion, violence and increased tensions and litigation in the Pai Traditional area, especially Pai-Katanka and Adonkwanta-Otiso. In May 2014, a sub-chief in the Pai Traditional area was found dead on his farm with gunshot wounds, with the circumstances leading to his death yet to be uncovered.





It is worthy of note that Krachiwura has no jurisdiction over Pai-Katanka and Adonkwanta-Otiso according to officially documented traditions of the Pai Traditional area which include the two towns. However, the Krachiwura Nana Mprah Besemuna III has consistently interfered in the affairs of these two towns in recent years following the start of the payment of compensation for their flooded lands.





In his diabolical plan, the Krachiwura Nana Mprah Besemuna III, an ex-Regional Police Commander, has resorted to using his kinsman from Krachi one Peter King Ginaye who is the current Regional Police Commander in the Volta Region. This public servant oblivious of his sworn duty to protect all citizens without bias has used all his police powers to terrorize, intimidate and cow citizens of Pai-Katanka into submission and imposing the destooled chief Nana Diawuo Bediako II on them. This destooled chief Nana Diawuo Bediako II paid bribes to public officials including the Regional Commander of Police Peter King Ginaye using the fraudulently acquired slush funds set aside through the Association. Not only is the Krachiwura using his kinsman in the police service to intimidate and cow the people of Pai-Katanka, he is also funding and working closely with another kinsman from Krachi, Peter Awuraye, the Krachi East District Chief Executive to serve as a political cover to use the security forces and the police against the peace-loving people of Pai-Katanka.





The destooled Pai chief Nana Diawuo Bediako II based on the support he is receiving from the Krachiwura, the Regional Police Commander and the Krachi East District Executive brazenly taunts the people of Pai-Katanka that nothing will come out of the Judgement Debt Commission's investigations.


Also, the destooled chief Nana Diawuo Bediako II has the audacity to smear the good image of the Judgment Debt Commission public boasting that he will never be prosecuted. In fact, through his lawyer Mr. Kwame Yankyera, he managed to have the High Court on 8th May, 2014 release an amount of GHc 1,266,496.65 plus interest of Pai-Katanka compensation money paid to him. However, he blatantly lied in September 2014 to the Judgement Debt Commission that the compensation payments to Pai-Katanka were still being held in Court. He boasts that with this fraudulently acquired money, there is no public official in Ghana he cannot bribe.


Is this how we manage our meager public resources, though handing out to people of questionable character? Is this how we want our public officials such as Police Regional Commander Peter King Ginaye and DCE Peter Awuraye to conduct themselves? I call for the immediate investigation of these public officials!




The Author is an indigene of the Pai Traditional area in the Krachi East District and may be contacted at kwagyekum@yahoo.com