Dr. John Kingsley Krugu, former Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has emphasized that only the state has the authority and responsibility to bring lasting peace to the ongoing Bawku chieftaincy conflict.
According to Dr. Krugu, many residents of the Bawku enclave expressed discontent over the government’s failure to effectively address the conflict, which has seen recurring violence and unrest.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, Dr. Krugu noted that the state’s role is crucial in asserting authority and upholding the law, arguing that the state must act decisively in such matters.
“When you have a whole state declaring something as illegal by saying that there is a recognised traditional leader who is recognised by the state and also by the traditional institutions and then somebody gets up to say that despite all of that, I am also a chief, I don’t think that is a difficult question to answer. It is up to the state to act.
“If I am found to be illegally sitting here, you know what the state machinery will do to me. So, I think the state has a job to do,” he stated.
The Bawku conflict, a result of a long-standing chieftaincy dispute, has led to significant instability in the Upper East Region.