The Islamic communities of both Dagombas and Konkombas have committed to live together in peace and unity, prioritizing their shared Muslim faith over tribal affiliations, following recent disturbances that led to the loss of at least one life.
The two Islamic communities of the Dagombas in Zabzugu and the Konkombas in Kutumbiyili made the commitment after Founder and Leader of Darul Tawheed Islamic Institute, Sheikh Dr Abu Dujana Ibrahim Basha, teamed up with the National Chief Imam of Konkombas, Sheikh Umar Farouk, to embark on a peace campaign in the two communities on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
The campaign, which saw Muslim leaders from the Dagombas and Konkombas come together, aimed to preach peace, offer mediation support, and donate to the affected families of February’s clashes between Dagomba hunters and Konkomba farmers at Kuntumbiyili that led to the death of at least one person, a middle-aged man who in his attempt to separate the fight got shot.
The Regent of Zabzugu, Adam Azumah, who spoke on behalf of the chiefs and people of the area, said they believe that the deceased, a middle-aged man from Zabzugu, was destined to die in the hands of his assailants; hence, they were not ready to avenge his death.
He encouraged the Konkombas to opt for dialogue to address their grievances, rather than violence, noting that the era of using violence to capture lands had passed.
“What God bestowed on our son, if not destiny, nothing would have happened to him, and for that matter, we are all happy as our [son] passed away by being an ambassador of peace. He died through peace, and he was willing to save a life [but ended up losing his]. Therefore, we are handing over everything to Almighty Allah; it is not by our mouths that we say we have forgiven them; it is from the bottom of our hearts. We are appealing to our colleagues Konkombas to stop taking the law into their own hands. The era of [using violence] to claim lands has passed. They should let us dialogue instead of always fighting.” he said.
He added that the two ethnic groups have lived for several hundreds of years, saying that as a retired teacher, he has sponsored the education of several Konkomba students and therefore cannot take up arms against them.
“We are all equal; we have stayed here for a longer period of time, being together. I for example as a teacher, I have hosted over 30 students and still pay the school fees of some.”
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The elders of Kuntumbiyili, who also spoke on behalf of the Konkomba community, also pledged their commitment to peace.
They said the recent disturbances in the area had gravely affected their business activities and were therefore not ready to continue on the path of violence.
They appealed to residents of Zabzugu to open up their businesses for them, saying that they have not been able to transact business in Zabzugu since February’s incident.
Sheikh Dr Abu Dujana said Islamic abhorred violence and destruction in society, hence the reason he teamed up with his colleague Islamic leaders in the Konkomba communities to campaign for peace.
“We came to an agreement that there was no way we could handle this except through an intensive peace campaign to preach peace and tell them about the words of Allah and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad that preaches peace,” he said.
Dr Abu Dujana commended both factions for choosing the path of peace, ending the weeks of tensions in the two communities.
The National Chief Imam of Konkombas, Sheikh Imam Umar Farouk, called for sustainable peace in the two areas.
Denouncing all forms of tribal tensions between the two ethnic groups, he urged Muslims in the two communities to be ambassadors of peace, noting that the co-existence of Dagombas and Konkombas was ordained by God.
“Dagombas and Konkombas, their existence is natural; no one can separate their existence; that’s how Allah made it.” Sheikh Umar Farouk noted
Sheikh Dr Abu Dujana, on behalf of Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, later presented assorted food items to the widow of the deceased.
He also presented boxes of Quran to the Islamic communities to be used to teach children about the word of Allah.