SUMMARY

Gonja (also called Guang, Guan and Ngbanya) is an ethnic group in northern Ghana which makes up about 4% of the country’s total population. The Gonja people have a long established and complex chieftaincy system with roots in the seventeenth century, and the group’s leadership has traditionally been rotated among divisional chiefs through a formalised system. Gonja today forms two administrative districts; East and West Gonja. The main livelihood of the group is farming.

A number of clashes over land rights and political representation have taken place among the tribes in northern Ghana. The Gonja tribe has usually been allied with the Namumba and Dagomba tribes against the Konkomba people.

Gonja has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.