Wearing of Smock banned in Bawku to prevent concealing of weapons in them
“The Minister for the Interior has on the advice of the Upper East Regional Security Council and by Executive Instrument imposed a curfew on Bawku Municipality and its environs in the Upper East Region from 4:00 pm to 6:00 am effective, Wednesday 24th November 2021."
Abena Takyiwaa 
The people of Bawku will have to put a hold on the wearing of their traditional costume, the smock. This is a directive from the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, to prevent criminals from hidng weapons in them to harm others.
Bawku has been marked as one of the flash points in Ghana. Clashes between residents and various ethnic groups have been reported in the past years.
A statement released by REGSEC states "the wearing of smock has been banned with immediate effect in the Bawku Township. This was necessitated by the fact that criminals or unscrupulous elements hide arms and ammunition in smocks and attack opponents or innocent civilians.”
The regions of Northern Ghana and the Upper East Region are mostly identified with the wearing of smock. It is also worn in other parts of the country but its production yields a higher economic activity in Ghana's regions in the North.
CURFEW IMPOSED
As part of measures to restore calm in the Bawku township, a curfew has also been imposed on some communities. This was made known in a statement signed by the Minister for Interior Ambrose Dery. The duration of the curfew, which takes effect from Wednesday 24th November 2021 is from 4:00pm to 6:00am.
“The Minister for the Interior has on the advice of the Upper East Regional Security Council and by Executive Instrument imposed a curfew on Bawku Municipality and its environs in the Upper East Region from 4:00 pm to 6:00 am effective, Wednesday 24th November 2021." the staement reads.
In the statement “Government calls on the Chiefs, Elders, Opinion Leaders, Youth and people of the area to exercise restraint in the face of the challenges confronting them as well as to use non-violent means to channel their energies into ensuring peace.”
He explained that the curfew is as a result of threats of insecurity in the communities concerned, and warned that any person within the Municipality found to be carrying arms or ammunition will be arrested and prosecuted.
