The District Chief Executive for Gomoa East, Solomon Darko Quarm has described last Thursday’s eviction exercise where over one thousand residents of Suncity, a suburb of Gomoa Buduburam were kicked out of their homes by a litigant as an act of insurgency on the district.
He lamented over the refusal by the litigant to engage the Assembly before embarking on the exercise.
Over 1,000 residents of Suncity were on March 30, 2023, left stranded following their eviction by a litigant of a land dispute.
The residents lament that they were given no adequate time to relocate from the area. The residents were evicted from their houses by the litigant identified as SNBB under the supervision of a police task force.
Personal belongings of the affected persons were thrown out of their rooms and entrances were locked with fresh padlocks provided by the litigant.
The litigant who claims ownership of the land has won a court case against property owners of the area. According to the litigant, the court has given him the right to demolish all the houses to be able to recover his land.
According to Citi News sources the private landowner who is a litigant in a land dispute, had secured a court ruling against traditional authorities of the area who sold the land to the residents about some 25 years ago.
There was also an indication that some of the residents had made payments to the owner of the land as renegotiations were ongoing to repurchase the land from him until this untimely demolition.
But barely five days after the incident, the District Chief Executive for the area, Solomon Darko Quarm, described the incident as an insurgency attack in modern-day Ghana since the laid down procedures were not used by the litigant and the police in evicting persons who occupy these buildings.
The DCE also cautioned against the police allowing themselves to be induced and used for what he described as a debt collection exercise.
He said the Assembly shall not countenance any such exercise supported by the police in future and wants the IGP to delve into the matter.
Some residents and property owners of the area also spoke to Citi News imploring the central government to intervene.
They said the exercise caused damage to their electronic gadgets and other personal belongings.
“We were at home and then suddenly these individuals entered my room and started taking out my belongings. They initially asked that I pay for the land. They say we should pay some amount of money which I have started paying, and then this move came in. We thank the DCE for intervening for us, and we believe this will champion the good course of the government. Had it not been the DCE some of us would have slept outside, and we thank him for that bold move,” they said.
