Personnel of the Ghana Police Service has turned lands-guards and kept harassing residents of Fiakonya and allied communities with weapons over their farming lands.
The constant intimidation has over the years driven many bonafide occupants who are predominantly farmers to do menial jobs elsewhere at the expense of their lucrative farming business.
Head of the Beniana Family, Numo Moses Beniana Mensah, in a press conference at Fiakornya laments how peace has eluded them for years since the Ghana Police Service says it has acquired their lands from unknown persons.
According to Numo Beniana, the Tei Appiaka Beniana family bought the said land from the Larteh Kubease people at 100 Pounds in 1908 and subsequently secured indenture in 1912, after helping the Akuapem people to defeat the Ashanti’s in the Katamanso war in 1826.
They have since then lived on the land peacefully with their border communities until it was revealed through a survey in 2002 that some neighbours had encroached on about 1,173 acres of land including cemeteries and shrines, to the extent of selling about 1000 acres to an estate developer called Netas Properties and Investment.
The estate developer and family heads of the encroachers he noted, admitted trespassing which they claimed was a mistake and promised to correct.
The correction was not done only for the Ghana Police administration to purchase the land in question from the developer to their surprise.
Scandalised by the latest development, Numo Beniana said they formally cautioned the police administration against the land, after the then IGP, COP Acheampong refused to reply two petitions presented to him earlier.
The Police then requested for site plan to the said land, which the Numo Beniana family produced. However, Police have been playing hide and seek with this rightful land owners until February 2021 when the Director General, Welfare of the Ghana Police Service, COP, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, convened a meeting and gave Netas Properties and Investment a two-week ultimatum to go back to the Beniana family and do the necessary corrections after listening to both parties.
The aggrieved family says their woes began after writing to inform COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah about the estate developer’s refusal to meet with them to do the needful after alleged connivance with the estate developer.
Numo Beniana stressed that, “we have never had peace, the police harass, threat, intimidate and arrest us amidst gunshots and sometimes besiege our communities with guns until we are confined in this small Fiakornya village, and do not know the next line of action by the police administration”.
To this effect, Numo is appealing to the new IGP, Dr. Dampare to intervene and order the officers to back out from their land untiltheright thing is done.
“….where do they want us to go, where will our children live when they grow, we are now homeless and tired of fully armed police presence each day as though this is a war zone”, the lamented laments.
He further plead to President Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia, Chairman, Police Council, Right Hon. Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Alban Kingsford Sumaner Bagbin, the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery and all other well meaning Ghanaians to come to their aid.
The Youth Chief of Fiakornya, Ernest Tetteh, on his part said, the Youth have all gone to the cities due to this constant police harassment who come to destroy their farms chasing them out of Fiakornya only to go chasing for non-existing jobs at Dodowa andother places.
Naaneh Beniana, the women leader says life gets very unbearable by the day due the situation. “The few of us living here only rear fowls as our source of survival, making it difficult for us to fend for ourselves, let alone to cater for our wards’ educational needs”.
To this, she reiterated the call on the government to come to their aid, and also in the area of social amenities since they live as if they are not part of Ghana.
When Nationaltymes.com Reporter contacted the acting Tema Regional Police PRO, Chief Inspector Stella Dede Dzakpasu claimed the issue was under investigation and due deligence would be done to bring finality to matter.
Story By: Eward Graham Sebbie/Nationaltymes.com
