East Legon- Mempeasem: Residents angry over alleged land grabbing by govt officials

Hundreds of residents of Mempeasem, a residential community in East Legon in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have demonstrated to register their displeasure over the continued use of brute force to take over their lands and properties.

The demonstration, which saw the burning of car tyres, with residents draped in red attire and armbands hitting the streets of Mempeasem, was a direct response to recent land guard and police attacks on some residents who have resisted the attempt by some politicians and well-connected individuals to take over their properties within the community.

According to the aggrieved residents, not even a court injunction on the operations of these individuals has been able to stop them from continuing with their attacks and brute tactics to take over their lands and properties.

Addressing the press over the weekend, an executive member of the Mempeasem Residents Association, Lorinda Badu whose plot of land is allegedly being snatched by a top official at the presidency with the use of land guards and some security personnel, has been arrested on countless occasion by the East Legon Police for defending her land, while those hoodlums are left off the hook.

She bemoaned the level at which some top officials of the current government are bent on using force and illegal means to take possession of the ordinary Ghanaian’s property as sickening and distasteful.

Mr. Enoch Nkansah, a resident and member of the Mempeasem Residents Association decried the use of state security to intimidate ordinary Ghanaians. Mr.Nkansah who is faced with a similar fate said, though there have been several unfruitful attempts by some highly connected individuals to change his name on his land documents, he is deeply concerned about the failure of the police to ensure peace in the area, despite several petitions to the police hierarchy since 2016.

Pastor Abraham Adjei of the Assemblies of God Church, whose two plots of land which were meant for a church building, have since been turned into a private apartment after it was forcefully taken away from him, could not hide his disappointment in the institutions mandated to protect the interest and rights of the ordinary citizenry.

When contacted, the East Legon police command refused to talk on the matter, stressing that, the issues at hand are currently pending at the law court.

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