Christopher Sowah Okpoti (M) flanked by some family members
The Agbawe Owusu family of Oyarifa in the Greater Accra Region has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama and relevant state institutions to intervene in a land dispute involving about 700 acres of family land.
The family alleges that portions of the land have been unlawfully taken over by private individuals, who are allegedly selling, demolishing structures and attempting to regularise ownership of parts of the disputed property.
The Property Administrator of the family, Christopher Sowah Okpoti, made the appeal at a press conference at Oyarifa last Saturday.
He called on the President, the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI), the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service and the National Peace Council to investigate the matter and help resolve the dispute.
“President Mahama, please come to our rescue and act on our plea to call for an immediate investigation into what Gyato is doing to us. About 700 acres of our land have been taken from us. We pray to the President, the BNI, the CID, the Peace Council and all who matter to come to our rescue,” he said.
According to the family, the disputed lands were acquired by the state in the 1960s following Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s interest in establishing a dairy farm to produce fresh milk for local consumption.
Mr. Okpoti said Dr. Nkrumah became interested in the project in 1965 while travelling towards Peduase, leading to the acquisition of portions of land in Oyarifa and surrounding areas.
He said successive governments continued the initiative following Dr. Nkrumah’s overthrow, including the importation of 100 Friesian cattle from Britain and 200 Jersey cattle from Holland, with full production commencing in 1977.
The acquisition, he said, affected communities including Danfa, Oyarifa and Amrahia.
Mr. Okpoti said the dairy farming initiative eventually collapsed after successive governments failed to sustain it, prompting the family to make repeated demands for the return of the lands.
He said the family received some relief in 2020 when the government at the time agreed to release the lands and directed the Lands Commission to facilitate their return.
“When the then government agreed to release our lands to us and a directive was issued to the Lands Commission for their release, nothing was done,” he disclosed.
He claimed that following the failure of the Lands Commission to act on the directive, the Agbawe Owusu We family, which he described as the custodians of the land with allodial title, subsequently repossessed the property.
Mr. Okpoti said the situation later became complicated when some people who had purchased portions of the land from the family allegedly faced demolitions by individuals claiming authority over the property.
He alleged that a man identified as Gyato claimed the land belonged to the government and was acting to protect state property, resulting in the demolition of some structures.
He further alleged that some affected persons and prospective occupants were being asked to pay about GH¢200,000 to regularise their occupation before they could develop the land.
Mr. Okpoti described the alleged activities as unfair and criminal, questioning how an individual could be authorised to regularise occupation of state-acquired lands without due process.
He also alleged that several family members had been arrested in connection with the dispute, leading to tensions and conflicts, and claimed that some people had lost their lives as a result.
The family maintained that it had not received compensation from the government for the acquisition of the land, and called for an investigation to establish ownership and resolve the dispute.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah