According to the Ghana Website,

One person died and 25 houses were set ablaze during the recent communal violence at Brohani in the Wenchi district, which also caused the displacement of about 1,000 people. The dead has been identified as Ocrah Seidu, a 35-year-old farmer. This came to light when the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. David Osei-Wusu, visited the town as part of his two-day tour of the district. The violence was precipitated by attacks on a court bailiff and policemen sent to the town to enforce a Sunyani high court order that the chief pay 120,000 cedis, being the remainder of costs awarded against him in a land dispute with Menji, a neighbouring town. The attacks later degenerated into communal violence, when supporters of the chief attacked and burnt the houses of residents suspected to be sympathisers of the Menji chief...the dispute first erupted about seven years ago when the chief of Menji demanded 400 tubers of yam, seven sheep and a number of chicken from the people of Brohani annually because the land on which they were staying belongs to him...but the people of Brohani find it difficult to accept, because to them it amounts to slavery. Mr Osei-Wusu deplored the use of violence in settling issues and advised them to use approved channels to seek redress. He also asked them to facilitate the return of those who were forced to flee the town. Mr. Osei-Wusu also visited Menji and impressed upon the residents to allow for the due process of law in the land dispute (26 Aug. 1997).

Information published on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) Website corroborates this information but states that the conflict left three people dead and more than 1,000 displaced from their homes (n.d.). The dispute reportedly sparked off riots in the Banda area of the Wenchi District and riot police were brought in an effort to contain the situation (ibid.).

No mention of the names of the chiefs involved; of those killed in the riots; nor of those arrested in connection with the killings could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Response.

Ghana Website. 26 August 1997. "Violence Erupts At Brohani." http://www.ghanaweb.com/StaticArchive/1997-08-26.html [Accessed: 20 Nov. 2000]

Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), Home Office, UK. n.d. "Ghana: Ethnic Groups" http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/asylum_Ghana.htm [Accessed: 20 Nov.2000]

Africa Confidential [London].

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford].

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998-1999. 1999-2000. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Press.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge].

Resource Centre. Country File. Ghana.

Search engines including:

Google

Metacrawler

Mamma.

Internet sites including:

All Africa