Some residents of Amrahia Dairy Farm have appealed to President John Mahama to intervene and investigate what they describe as the unlawful demolition of their properties by individuals who allegedly claimed to be acting on instructions from the Jubilee House.
The residents made the appeal following the demolition of several structures in the area, including a church building, which the residents said was legally acquired two years ago and developed.
The affected residents said they have lost properties worth thousands of cedis, hence the need for President Mahama to call for immediate investigations into the demolitions.
The 2,000 acres of land, which was originally owned by families and stools, was acquired by the government 50 years ago through an Executive Instrument EI-1970 for dairy production and operated for about 30 years before it was abandoned.
But in 2020, President Akufo-Addo, through the then Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, returned 40 percent of the farmland acquired for the Dairy Farm project to the original owners.
Affected residents, including members of Heaven Investment Chapel, whose church was also demolished on Saturday, June 13, staged a demonstration to protest what they described as the failure of state Institutions to investigate the issue nearly two months after the church structures were demolished.
According to the residents, a group of men entered the area and began demolishing buildings without any court order.
One of the affected residents, Bishop Prosper Joemens Rohrmiller, Founder and Head Pastor of Heaven Investment Chapel, whose church was among the structures demolished, was unhappy over the lack of response from relevant authorities.
Speaking to the media, Bishop Rohrmiller said residents and church members had submitted petitions to the Ghana Police Service, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS), and the Office of the President, but have still not received any response from them.
Recounting the incident, the pastor explained that the six plots of land on which the church has started the construction of a three-storey building intended to serve as an auditorium for services, offices, and residential apartments were demolished.
He said the church subsequently led residents to petition the relevant security agencies to investigate certain individuals and a company that had laid claim to ownership of the land.
In a petition addressed to the Director-General of the CID, Bishop Rohrmiller alleged that the company unlawfully destroyed the church’s property and called for immediate intervention.
“Individuals trespassed and caused unlawful damage to my property without a court order or provocation, and also claimed ownership of the land without any proper documents.
I am therefore petitioning your good office for assistance and intervention in this matter in the interest of justice,” the petition stated.
A separate petition submitted to the Office of the President and sighted by the media described the demolition as a violation of the rights of an entire religious community.
Recounting the events leading to the demolition, Bishop Rohrmiller said notices had earlier been posted by a company that claimed it was acting under a power of attorney on behalf of another individual asserting ownership of the land.
According to him, although occupants were given 21 days to regularise their tenancy, excavators moved to the land less than a week later.
He said the operators initially demolished sections of the church’s fence before returning the following day to completely destroy the church’s structures.
“They demolished every building and wall we had put up. They demolished all three separate blocks.
Our concern is that an entire property was demolished without a court order.
No court authorised that demolition, yet up till now, no one has been arrested. We are all Ghanaians and deserve protection under the law”.
The residents also told journalists that the failure of state institutions to take urgent action on the matter could lend credence to claims by the individuals who demolished the properties that they were acting on instructions from higher authorities, including the Jubilee House.
“The residents and church members are therefore calling on President John Mahama, the Ghana Police Service, and other relevant authorities to investigate the demolition exercise and ensure justice for all affected persons”, the Pastor added.
By Ifeetwube Kumah Kwadwo
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