Ghana Army, Police Aided Firm To Defy Court Injunction Demolish Houses In Dawhenya, Rendered Thousands Of Residents Homeless

A real estates firm, Ronidany Company Limited in Tema has been accused by the chiefs and elders of Dawhenya in the Ningo-Prampram District in the Greater Accra Region of demolishing buildings and other structures of the residents without the court order, asking the residents to leave their ancestral land.

They stated that the continuous practices of the company with the tacit support of the joint efforts by some police officers from the Ghana Police Service and soldiers of Ghana Army Enforce (GAF) to storm the area and carried out the demolition of the house structures already built by the residents had rendered thousands of the residents homeless.

The affected residents lamented that their efforts to tell the owners of the company and police officers and soldiers to stop the demolition of their houses built on their ancestral land and wait for the determination of the case pending in the law court on the same property have been ignored.

They stated that although the elders of the Arden-Darpoh family of Dawhenya who are the custodian owners of the land in question have secured a court injunction against the Ronidany Company Limited and the case is still pending before the court on the same property, the company has defiled the court order and still visiting the area to continue its demolition exercises of their houses.

They described this as lawful demolition by the company which was carried out with the tacit support of the joint efforts by some police officers from the Ghana Police Service and soldiers of the Ghana Army Enforce against residents who built structures on the Dawhenya land company is claiming for itself. 

The demolition exercise has angered the chiefs and elders in Dawhenya for which they called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to urgently intervene in the matter by way of asking the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Minister of Interior, Minister of Defense, and Minster National Security to call police and soldiers including the owners of the company to order since the case is still in court.

They pointed out that the company has defied the court injunction on the land and entered the land with brute force to carry out the demolition of the structures on the land without recourse to the law.

They expressed anger over the illegal demolition by a company believed to be pushed by some unknown government officials, using some Ghana police and Military Men without wearing any tags with names or identifications for the operations.

On behalf of members Arden-Darpoh family of Dawhenya, Nuumo Martey Anden expressed disappointment on how Ghana police service personnel and military men could be used by some unknown government officials without a court order to carry out illegal demolishing by destroying buildings without following due process.

He stated emphatically that, the Arden-Darpoh family has not sold land to any real estate developer with a  name called Ronidany Company Limited.

Following this development, he stated that the demolition was unlawfully carried out without a court order, as there was a suit pending in court on the same property.

On his part, the Arden-Darpoh and Dawenya family Asafoatse of the area, Martey Afflo IV appealed to President Addo Danquah Akufu Addo and also Called on Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, to intervene on the illegal demolition exercise at Dawhenya.

He stressed that the family are law-abiding citizens and respect and waiting for the court's order till on twelve (12) of April.

Asafoatse on the other hand also sends a strong warning to the intruders of the alleged demolition land that, if they disregard the court order and enter into the land before the said date, for another illegal demolition, then the family will not take it likely with them.