Introduction

In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. However, almost invariably the same functions, whether or not formally defined and characterized in the same terms or exercised in the same manner, are also performed by traditional institutions and their leaders. Chiefs administer land and people, contribute to the creation of rules that regulate the lives of those under their jurisdiction, and are called on to solve disputes among their subjects. The relationship between traditional leadership and inherited western-style governance institutions often generates tensions. In Ghana, for example, local governance is an area where traditional leadership and the constitutional government sometimes “lock horns.” Traditional leaders often feel left out when the government takes decisions affecting their people and land without their consent or involvement. Chieftaincy is further plagued with its own internal problems, including issues of relevance, succession, patriarchy, jurisdiction, corruption and intra-tribal conflict. Challenges confronting the institution of chieftaincy have continued from the colonial era into recent times. The role of chieftaincy within post-colonial African countries continues to incite lively debates, as the case of Ghana exemplifies.