The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has received the final report of the Gbenyiri Mediation Committee tasked with addressing inter-communal tensions between the Lobi/Birifor and Gonja communities in the Savannah Region.
The Committee, which was constituted in September 2025, was mandated to promote dialogue, cooperation and peaceful coexistence following renewed clashes in parts of the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba area.
The report is expected to serve as a comprehensive roadmap for rebuilding trust, strengthening tolerance and restoring long-term stability in the Gbinyiri community.
Receiving the document, Muntaka commended the Committee for its diligence and assured that government stands ready to study and implement its recommendations. He also expressed appreciation to development partners for their support throughout the mediation process and appealed for continued collaboration to deepen social cohesion in the affected communities.
The Minister further lauded the Committee’s chairman, Emmanuel Bombande, and his team for a thorough and painstaking effort aimed at securing lasting peace in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba enclave.
Presenting the report, Mr Bombande thanked President John Dramani Mahama, the Interior Minister, the Overlord of Gonja and other key stakeholders for their cooperation and commitment to the peace process. He noted that conflict resolution requires sustained engagement and sacrifice from all parties involved.
He therefore urged government to prioritise the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations and establish a clear roadmap and monitoring mechanism to ensure the proposals translate into tangible and lasting peace on the ground.
Background
The Chief of Sawla, Iddrisu Abdulai Nugbanso, had allegedly accused the Member of Parliament for the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba constituency, Andrew Chiwetey Dari, of exacerbating the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Gonja and Birifor communities.
According to the chief, evidence gathered by Gonja traditional authorities and youth indicates that the Birifor militia responsible for attacking Gbineyri and Kalba—and killing four Gonja youth—were reportedly brought in from the Ivory Coast. He added that the assailants were armed with sophisticated weapons typically used by state security agencies.
The killings and destruction of property, he said, compelled Gonja warriors, known locally as Nbowuras, to launch counterattacks against the Ivorian mercenaries and local Birifor youth involved in the violence.
The conflict has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced many Birifors and Lobis within the country. Others have fled to the Ivory Coast, where reports indicate that women and children face sexual abuse. Disturbingly, casualties and displacement have disproportionately affected women and children in the affected areas.
