SUMMARY
The conflict between Gonja on one side and Nawuri and Konkomba on the other side took place mainly in and around Kpanda town in Ghana’s Northern Region. This region is home to a large number of different ethnic groups, who throughout history repeatedly clashed. However, in the early 1990s, the clashes escalated to a previously unseen level of intensity and violence, resulting in two distinct, but interlinked conflicts: The 1991-1992 clashes between Gonja and a Nawuri – Konkomba alliance, and the “Guinea Fowl War” in 1994-1995 between Konkomba and a Dagomba, Gonja and Nanumba alliance (see the Dagomba, Gonja, Nanumba – Konkomba conflict).
The underlying causes of the conflict were two different traditional forms of livelihood and internal organization. Ghana’s Northern Region is divided into two different types of societies: Chiefly and acephalous. The former is organized along with chieftaincy structures with a clear hierarchy level and is practiced by Dagombas, Nanumbas, Gonja, and Mamprusis, while the latter does not know a hierarchical organization and is to a large extend migratory farmers. This form of organization is practiced by Konkombas, Nawuris, Basares, and Nchumurus. This difference in organization and livelihood resulted in unclearness of and disagreements over land rights, recognition, and political representation.
The outbreak of violence between Gonja on one side and Nawuri and Konkomba on the other side was triggered by two incidents in early 1991. First, the Gonja Youth Association GYA decided to hold its annual meeting in 1991 in Kpanda. The GYA had started out as an organization that included all the ethnic youth groups in the Gonja districts, but when the minority groups started to form their own associations, the former turned into a forum for Gonja territorial and political claims. The decision to hold the annual meeting in Kpanda was considered a provocation by the Nawuri since Kpanda was dominated by Nawuri and was seen as the traditional Nawuri capital. In this context of increased tension, the second triggering incident - a double allocation of a piece of land in Kpanda - took place. A piece of land was given by the Catholic Church to a local Gonja chief; a deal which was disputed by the Nawuri chief claiming that he already owned the land. This last incident led to fighting in April 1991 between Gonja and Nawuri, during which Nawuri were driven out of Kpanda. During this fighting, Konkomba was drawn into the conflict after having been attacked – possibly by mistake – by Gonjas and as a result sided with Nawuri. In June, the Nawuri – Konkomba alliance launched a counter-attack, and succeeded in recapturing Kpanda. In the following months, the conflict calmed down, but tensions remained high. In May 1992, the Nawuri – Konkomba alliance attacked Kpanda again, a battle during which the Gonja suffered a second defeat and which resulted in the killings of numerous Gonja, the burning of hundreds of Gonja houses and the forced resettlement of its inhabitants.
Following the violent clashes in 1991 and 1992, the government issued an investigation into the land dispute. The commission supported the Nawuris call for recognition of their autonomy and their right to the disputed land. The commissions report however proved too controversial and was never officially published, yet got leaked to media in 1994. The unresolved dispute has led to an underdevelopment of the area and continued ethnic segregation, as government funds are allocated by the Gonja-controlled district capital, Salaga. An additional consequence of this conflict was that the previously neutral and relatively peaceful Konkomba were drawn into the ethnic tensions in the region.
The non-state conflict between Gonja on one side and Nawuri and Konkomba on the other side is first included in UCDP data in 1991. In June of that year fighting between the two sides led to more than 25 battle-related deaths.
