The Frafra people are believed to have come from the Gur-language family of the Oti-Volta River.

The Frafra (also known as Gorse) are hardworking agricultural Gur-speaking people ethnic group in Northern Ghana and Southern Burkina Faso. The Frafra people who live predominantly in the north-eastern part of the Upper East Region of Ghana called themselves in Gurune language as “Gorse,’ whilst some historians refer to them as “Gurune.” However, when a Frafra meets any Gurune speaking person he refers to him or her as “Mabia” (My family).

Their popular name Frafra is a colonialist term given to them by the Christian Missionaries, who when they first encountered Frafra farmers were greeted with the common greeting to people working “Ya Fare fare?”, which means “How is your suffering (work)?” The missionaries began referring to these Gurune people as Frafra, a derivation of the greeting, which eventually was adopted by the people themselves and has been popularized by the Southern Ghanaian peoples.

The Frafra people are also well known for their artistic craft products: straw articles like hats and baskets as well as feather products. Their products can be found all over Ghana in the major towns that tourists visit. Since the colonial era Frafra youth have been compelled to emigrate to the southern parts in search of menial jobs.

Bolgatanga is the commercial centre of the Frafra people. Other important villages and towns include Bongo, Tongo, Zuarungu, Zoko, Zuarengu, Somburungu, and Pwalugu. It must be noted however that Tongo is the principal town of the Talensi people who are ethnically different from the Frafra. Today, the Frafra can be found in many major towns and villages all around Ghana including Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Sunyani and Cape Coast.

They are also highly mobile, often travelling south to look for work during the dry season. There are also some Gurune-speaking people (the Nankani) in Navrongo District, which is generally a Kasem-speaking area. Native Gurune is also found in Burkina Faso, in the Nahouri province, Eastern part of Tiébélé and the region of Pô.

The Frafra people are believed to have come from the Gur-language family of the Oti-Volta River. They occupy the Bolgatanga, Bongo and Tellensi-Nabdan districts of the Upper East Region of Ghana. They share borders with southern Burkina Faso and are believed to have migrated from there to their present location. Their language is very close to Moshie, which is the language of one of the major ethnic groups in Burkina Faso.

The historical origin of Frafra people is very scanty and much research need to be done on them. However, there are certain pointers to their historical migration. According to a legend narrated by Anthony Atarebore, the Frafra and the Dagaaba were both linked with the Dagomba and share a common origin. This Dagomba connection re-echoes Hébert’s legend about the first Dagara, an orphan who was accused of witchcraft and expelled by the Dagomba chief. The orphan accordingly fled towards the Black Volta and stayed near Babile, across the river. However, both legends do not account for the relationship with other ethnic groups, which are shown to belong to a common Mabia ancestry (Bodomo 1994).

According to Atarebore’s legend, “a long time ago, Dagomba, Gurune and Dagao were brothers, or rather cousins. They lived somewhere in Southern Africa among the Bantus. From Southern Africa, they began to migrate northwards through Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. Then, turning westward, they moved to Sierra Leone, Northern Nigeria, and finally to Ghana. Historians differ in their opinion as regards the nature and scale of these movements. For instance, Lentz (1994) rejects the hypothesis put forward by Eyre-Smith’s8 that the history of northern Ghana, indeed of the whole West African savannah, seemed to consist of ‘constant’ movements of people as a result of slave-raiding, internecine warfare, etc., whole sections of a tribe or family breaking away and migrating to a new territory.

Instead, Carola Lentz suggests that migration took place in small-scale distances and small groups.

It is not very clear whether the Frafra existed during the old Ghana Empire in the Middle Ages and formed part of that empire since its present location is not so far from the location of the former empire. The facts, however, cannot be verified. According to some elders, the people of Zuarungu, one of the major settlements of the Frafra, migrated from Wuarungu in Burkina Faso. It is believed that the name Zuarungu is derived from Wuarungu. Even today, there is still a link between the people of Zuarungu and the people of Wuarungu.

For some Frafra chiefs, their tradition traces their historical and cultural ties to the Mamprusi kingdom. This is the case of Namos of Tongo whose oral traditions recount how their apical ancestor- Mosore- had come to Tongo on exile from Nalerigu and had remained in Tongo. Similar traditions seem to exist in other Frafra enclaves. Bongo district is made up of two main communities. The original settlers are Gurune-speaking and the second group is the Mamprusi stock that settled mainly in the central part of the present. Some Frafra Nangodi people also share similar Mamprusi ancestry.

Frafra people speak Frafra or Farefare, also known as Guren?, language. The Frafra language belongs to Gurma Oti-Volta cluster of languages of the larger Niger-Congo language family.

The students have expressed their desire to write the exams despite their situation

Two final year students of St. Fidelis Senior High Technical School in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District of the Eastern region who recently delivered and a seven month old pregnant student are struggling to cope with the compulsory boarding directive.

President Akufo-Addo directed that all final year Senior High School (SHS 3) students, together with SHS 2 Gold Track students who resumed academic exercise on 22nd June, 2020 to complete the academic calendar must be in the boarding house as a measure to control the spread of Coronavirus in schools.

However, due to the awkward situations the two final year students find themselves, they have not been able to resume academic work despite being willing to write the West Africa Senior High Certificate Examination (WASCE) starting this month.

But one of the lactating students on Tuesday wrote to the Headmaster of the School and copied the District Director of Education Service about her condition asking for permission to come to school from home to enable her take care of her child and at the same time partake in learning to prepare for the exams.

A family member of the student, told Starr News “she was a boarding student but got pregnant and delivered just before government reopened schools so it means we had to take her from the boarding to stay in the house. But because of the directive that all the students should stay in school she was not able to go because of the child. So we wrote a letter to the headmaster begging him to let her go to school from the house. So she has been going to the school just that she feels tired and always be sleeping in class because the baby doesn’t allow her to have enough sleep.”

Starr News has gathered that the lactating student has been betrothed to the man who impregnated her at Tease Community where she is cohabitating.

One other lactating student and a heavily pregnant student are, however, yet to report to school due to the unfavourable boarding directive.

Teenage pregnancy is prevalent in the Afram Plains area due to poverty and other socio-economic factors.

Many victims of teenage pregnancy are forced into marriages with the perpetrators by their parents.

The Chief Executive Officer of International Child Development Program (ICDP) Joyce Lanyo, says it is important for stakeholders in the District to ensure that the students are supported to write the exams and prevent being forced into marriage with the perpetrators.

ICDP which is implementing Partner for Girls Advocacy Alliance a project initiative of Plan International Ghana seeking to eradicate Child marriage and gender based violence said, many teenage girls are being forced into marriage at the expense of their education during such situations.

File photo of people in a queue to register

Mr Mavis Amedzoku, a health agent at the centre, who briefed the Ghana News Agency, said the man in his 70s fell while in the queue for the aged and was resuscitated.

She said Mr Ameko was giving first aid and tested for malaria.

Mr Ameko was attended to by the registration officials after he regained consciousness.

Mr Prosper Kumah, a party agent, complained about the large number of inhabitants in the many communities under the Centre.

“I doubt if everybody can be registered within the six days because the queue is getting longer each day,” he said.

Some of the satellite communities include Kodzobi Ando, Areas 52 and 53, University of Health and Allied Sciences.

The GNA observed that there was order at the centre as seats were provided for all amidst strict social distancing.

Nsoh Adongo tied to the tree

The Police in the Upper East Region have rescued a 27-year-old man from a mob action for allegedly stealing a storage barrel and some stainless steel bowls.

The man identified as Nsoh Adongo according to the police who confirmed the incident to MyNewsGh.com, was saved from a mob attack at the Dorongo Primary School after a distress call was placed to the Police in the Upper East regional capital, Bolgatanga.

According to them, the 27 years old was tied to a tree with a rag with multiple marks of assault on him at the premises of Dorongo Primary School, with a large crowd at the scene including the assemblyman of the electoral area.

The victim was rescued and was rushed to the Police Clinic, Bolga where he was treated and discharged on medication.

Preliminary investigations by the Police indicate that the Assemblyman of the area Martin Adongo and two others namely; Atanga Atampugre and Abu Akanyela who were part of the mob have been arrested.

According to the supreme court, birth certificate has no bearing of citizenship to the holder

The Supreme Court in its judgement in the case between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Electoral Commission (EC) has indicated that acquiring a birth certificate does not prove citizenship.

The apex court in a unanimous decision contends that holding a birth certificate has no bearing of citizenship to the holder.

The court explains that the document does not establish “the identity of the bearer”.

This is contained in the court’s judgment in the case filed by private citizen Mark Takyi Banson which court delivered judgment on June 25 together with the case filed by the opposition NDC.

While the NDC case wanted the current voters ID card to be used in the registration exercise, Mr. Banson made a case for the inclusion of birth certificate insisting it proves identity of prospective voters as Ghanaians who have turned 18.

The decision written by Justice Ashie Kotey states that a birth certificate does not link its holder to the information it contains. It adds that it provides no evidence of citizenship.

The court compares it to another document it has already rejected; the National Health Insurance Cards and concludes it’s actually better than the Birth Certificate.

It is worthwhile to note that the birth certificate is used as a source document for various registrations including passports which are currently being used in voter registration.