Residents of New Kordiabe in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region
Residents of New Kordiabe in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region say they are living in fear following frequent attacks by dozens of gun-wielding land guards.
The residents, who are predominantly farmers, claim their lands are being taken away by these land guards, allegedly acting on the orders of the Chief of Manya-Jorpanya, Nene Dr. Tei-Djahene Korabo.
At a press conference held in Kordiabe, the residents asserted that the chief is forcibly claiming ownership of their lands and is orchestrating daily attacks on them using heavily armed men.
They further stated that although New Kordiabe is distant from Manya-Jorpanya, the chief is falsely claiming that the area falls under his jurisdiction.
Chairman of the New Kordiabe Landlords Association, Joseph Akamah, said residents have been forced to halt their daily activities due to fear of the land guards. He said, “We have stopped all our daily activities due to the harassment by land guards allegedly acting on the orders of Nene Korabo.”
Mr. Akamah emphasized that the residents had legally acquired their lands over the years and expressed concern over being prevented from developing their properties.
“There is a court injunction on the entire land, yet Nene Korabo and his team of land guards have taken the law into their own hands and continue to attack us persistently,” he stated.
He also alleged that the chief, together with his son, has been actively harassing them over their legally acquired properties.
Mr. Akamah appealed to the Member of Parliament for the area, who also serves as the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Akweley Ocloo, as well as the Inspector General of Police, President John Dramani Mahama, the Minister for the Interior, and other relevant authorities to intervene before the situation escalates.
Warning that residents were capable of defending themselves, he said, “We also have the men to face the armed attackers, but we are refraining from taking the law into our own hands.”
He added that the ongoing illegal activities by the land guards are creating an unsafe environment for residents who are legitimate citizens of Ghana. “Schools in the town have been shut down due to gunfire heard almost every hour in New Kordiabe,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, Nene Dr. Tei-Djahene Korabo, when contacted, denied the allegations, stating that he possesses legal documents for all the lands in question. “It’s false, it’s false, it’s false,” he refuted.
“That man calling himself Joseph Akamah, chairman of the landlords association, we don’t know him here… We have titles here,” he added.
