Police, AMA Evicted For Illegal Occupation

There was commotion and verbal war at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra Friday when owners of parcel of land carrying out a writ of possession clashed with officials of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly Rapid Response Unit.

Incensed by the Court bailiffs and the land owners who arrived with armed police officers to carry out the Accra High Court directive, the AMA officials refused to hand over keys to the offices of their building after their belongings were removed from the office block.

“You have carried out your instructions. We cannot give you the key. We will bring the keys to the court,” an AMA official told the court bailiff who demanded the keys.

When graphic.com.gh reached the scene, furniture, electrical gadgets and other equipment belonging to the AMA and the Holy Gardens Police Station had been pulled out.

Traders who had erected wooden structures there to keep their wares after the day’s work, were busily carting their goods away.

A squad of armed police officers led by DSP Freeman Kumashie, the Second in Command of Operations of the Accra Regional Command were patrolling the premises and occasionally warded off trouble makers or brought the heightened tension under control.

While the landowners had wanted to strip the AMA building off its electrical wiring, the AMA officials prevented them from doing so saying the electrician was not a qualified one.

The land in question is the vicinity at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, popularly known as Holy Gardens.

The Holy Gardens, a parcel of land located near the former Soldier Bar, a den of prostitutes, which was pulled down some years ago, is a sharp contrast to its name.

The landowners, according to a source who asked not to be named, had received a consent judgement since 2010 but the AMA and other occupants in spite of several notices, had refused to vacate the place.

According to the source, the land had been contested for by the estate of Samson Effah represented by Felix Charles, Edward Effah and Marian Adaa, at the Accra High Court at which it received a consent judgement and the defendants had agreed to vacate the place.

The source said according to the terms of settlement signed by the parties involved in the litigation on March 24, 2010 and entered into judgement in April 30, 2010, the defendants were to vacate the land which was leased and registered as 805/1975 by David Sampson Effah in 1975.

The parties had also agreed that the AMA did not grant the defendant the permission to be on the land.

Mr Kumashie said the police presence was mandated by the court to ensure that there was no breach of peace when its decision was being carried out.

When the AMA Public Relations Officer, Numo Blafo was reached for his reaction, he said, the person who was to give him information about the incident was in Kumasi hence he could not respond to it appropriately.