Yagbonwura Tumtunba Boresa II
Sulemana Tuntumba Boresa II, who lived from the early 1930s to 4 February 2023, was the Overlord of the Gonja Kingdom and the President of the Savannah Regional House of Chiefs. He was enskinned as Yagbonwura in Damongo in March 2010, after the death of the previous ruler, Bawah Abudu Doshie.
Born in the early 1930s, he was the son of Yapeiwura Bakari, the grandson of Yagbonwura Mahama of Kusawgu, and Mma Nyenbali Chiraba. After his father died, he was raised by his uncle in Zogu, near Yapei. His father had eleven wives, and Sulemana was the fourth of his father’s 30 children.
Sulemana worked in building and construction as a master carpenter and joiner. He also worked with several organizations, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Saba International Construction (which built the Ghana Foods Distribution Depot in Tamale in 1957), SIMS Construction, Tamale Supplies, and Tuffour Construction. He joined the 48 Engineering Regiment and helped build Kaladan Barracks, Kamina Barracks, and Barwah Barracks, the base of the Airborne Force in Tamale.
In 1974 he was transferred to the Savelugu Local Council as clerk of council to help set up that administration. He lived and worked in the Savelugu-Nanton area for more than 15 years, until 1979, when he was moved back to the Tamale Municipal Assembly, where he worked until retirement in 1993. Before becoming Yagbonwura, he was the Paramount Chief of Kusawgu Traditional Area, known as Kusawguwura Sulemana Jakpa. Kusawgu is one of the five gates to the Yagbon seat, helping him rise to the Overlord role.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:42 (CET).