Chieftaincy Conflicts in Northern Ghana: The Case of the Bimbilla Skin Succession Dispute

Abstract

The ongoing chieftaincy dispute in Bimbilla, in Northern Ghana, is between two princes from the same gate, each claiming to have been enskinned by the appropriate authority, as a Bimbilla Naa, overlord of the Nanumba people. This dispute is unique in two ways; it is an intra-gate dispute, and, reveals an inherent power struggle between two powerful kingmakers in the making of the Bimbilla chief. Between May and November 2007, data was collected in Tamale, and in Bimbilla, and some of its surrounding settlements. Data was gathered from primary documents such as archival material and court documents, and through informal conversations and in-depth with the disputing parties, and some of the kingmakers.