The Oti Regional Minister, Dr. Joshua Makubu, has backed efforts for the Kabre tribes to be recognized as Ghanaians.
He contends that because the Kabre tribe was a component of the people who established Ghana, they cannot be subjected to citizenship discrimination.
The Kabre people, often referred to as Cabrai, are found in Togo, Ghana, and Benin and are estimated to a little over 1.4 million as a whole.
Data on the Kabiye-speaking people are not readily available, but a survey by the Joshua project projected that Togo, which is where the Kabre people are from, has 1,341,000 individuals; Ghana has 51,000; and Benin has 14,000 people.
The Kabre tribe is well renowned for their farmers, who primarily grow yams, cotton, and millet.
The majority of the 51,000 or so Kabiye-speaking individuals in Ghana are concentrated in the Volta, Oti, Northeast, Savannah, and Northern regions.
They are thought to have moved from the Republic of Togo during the pre-independence era.
The Ghanaian Kabre’s citizenship has, however, come under intense examination.
Their omission from the ongoing Ghana card registration is a big problem.
Taro Moses, the head of the Association of Kabye-Ghana, referred to the circumstance as discriminatory.
Article 3 clause 1 of the 1992 constitution defines a citizen of Ghana as “any individual who, prior to the coming into effect of the constitution, is a citizen of Ghana by-law, and shall continue to be a citizen of Ghana”.
Clause 2 stated that a person who is born in Ghana or outside the country after this constitution enters into force is considered a Ghanaian citizen on the day of his birth if one of his parents or grandparents is or was a citizen of Ghana.
The constitution went on to list additional requirements, such as marriage ties, as ground for becoming a citizen of Ghana.
The chief of Kabre, Wiyaw Kujou Essorsimna, expressed grief during the 2023 annual Kamoe event in Kadjebi in the Oti region.
The Oti regional minister Dr. Joshua Makubu, welcomed the Kabres’ appeal and pledged assistance for initiatives aimed at reversing the current situation.
He argued that because almost every tribe in their current country is a migrant, the discrimination against the Kabre’s in Ghana must end.
By Peter Quao Adattor
