President’s Cousin Uses Police To Demolish Woman’s House At Cantonments

Kelvin Ofori-Atta, a cousin of President Akufo-Addo’s has been dragged to court for using the Police anti-terrorism unit to demolish a residential building at Cantonments, Accra, in a hostile takeover of the land.

Madam Aba Dede Welbeck, 56, a victim of the demolition is asking among other things that the High Court in Accra perpetually injunct Mr. Ofori-Attah, his wife and the Police gladiators used to demolish her family house from stepping foot on that land.

The plaintiff is also praying the court for a declaration that the Estate of Esi Manan is the owner of all that piece and contentious land situated at North Labone, Housing Estate-Accra.

The land size is approximately 0.29 acres is known as Plot number 58A, North LaboneHousing Estate-Accra.

The angry landowner is seeking an order directing the Lands Commission “to expunge the plotting and registering of the all that piece and parcel of land with building thereon, situate, lying and being at North Labone, Housing Estate-Accra, and containing an approximate area of 0.29 acre more or less and known as Plot number 58A, North Labone Housing Estate-Accra in the name of [Kelvin and his wife].”

The demolished property had been a four-bedroom house that had sat on the land for ages. According to court documents, Madam Aba Dede Welbeck had inherited it from her deceased mother, Esi Manan.

Reports say that records at the State Housing Corporation (formerly Ghana Housing Corporation), including the Indenture, show that the land was leased to Esi Manan by the Corporation in February 1967 for 60 years, meaning the Welbeck family have six more years to live in the property before they were brutally forced out in August 2021.

Madam Welbeck narrates the harrowing circumstances of the demolition, which had happened at dawn even after they had filed a suit against the Ofori-Attahs. 

“After the filing of our writ of summons and statement of claim and the application for interlocutory injunction both dated 12th day of August 2021, [Kelvin Ofori-Attah and Awura Adjoa Ofori-Attah], in connivance with [IGP George Akuffo-Dampare, Accra Regional Commander of Police, Afful Boakye Yiadom, and Detective Chief Insp. Solomon Manlokiya] on Sunday the 22nd of August, 2021 at about 3:300 a.m, invaded the property in a Rambo style with fully armed policemen, hoodlums, thugs by blocking all the access roads to the property,” she lamented.

“That these fully armed policemen, hoodlums and thugs who were wielding offensive weapons such as guns, cutlasses, rifles, and bulldozers, drove away my caretakers and collapsed the entire building.” This is how Madam Welbeck captured how her inheritance was razed down in her supplementary affidavit in support of an application for an interlocutory injunction at the High Court.”

IGP, George Akuffo-Dampare, along with the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Afful Boakye Yiadom, some other police officers and the Lands Commission have been joined in the suit against Kelvin Ofori-Attah and Awura Adjoa Ofori-Attah.

The joinder of the Lands Commission is due to a possible forgery showing that the official documents of ownership of the land signed by one Emmanuel Bentil for the Regional Lands Officer indicate that the government leased the land to Kelvin Ofori-Attah and Awura Adjoa Ofori-Attah on March 29, 2021

Meanwhile, the Police Service is claiming that the woman and her assigns rather had been trespassing on the property. “On 15/05/2021, the complainants’ representative, one Justice Hammond accompanied by the Police Team from the Counter-Terrorism Unit went to the said property [and arrested the caretaker there],” according to a statement signed by Chief Superintend Joseph Oppong, Accra Regional Crime Officer said in part.