The legal battle between Labadi Beach Hotel and Spartan-Ives Limited, operators of Polo Beach Club, has taken a new turn as the club has initiated a lawsuit against the hotel and two others over the ownership of the beachfront land.
Attached to the suit are Hotel Investments (Ghana) Limited, operators of Labadi Beach Hotel, and Richard Jakpa, the Director of Special Operations at the National Security Council Secretariat, who is accused of “hiding behind the Secretariat” to carry out the hotel and its operator’s “extra judicial and unlawful bidding” to demolish the Polo Beach Club.
The suit was filed on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, just moments after the hotel discontinued a suit it had initiated laying claim to the beachfront land which is the subject of dispute between the entities.
The hotel pointed out that the decision is a “commercial one”, noting that “it does not constitute an admission concerning the merits of the action or the rights asserted by the Respondent.”
The hotel had cited a reassessment of the costs and operational impacts of the suit as the reason for discontinuing it, although the Club believes it is just a ruse to unlawfully demolish its properties.
Polo Beach Club immediately took steps to protect its interest in the land by initiating the instant suit and also filed an application for interlocutory injunction to prevent the hotel and its agent from demolishing the Club, pending the determination of the suit.
Suit
Spartan-Ives Limited is seeking a declaration that it lawfully acquired the disputed beachfront land on which Polo Beach Club sits.
It is also asking for a declaration that it lawfully rented the disputed Car Park Land from the La Beach Resort Management Committee and/or the La Stool.
Again, it is seeking perpetual injunction against the defendants, restraining them and their grantors, agents, board chairman, board members, shareholders, superiors, acting by themselves or in the interest of the Respondents from threatening to demolish the Polo Beach Club.
The plaintiff is also seeking to restrain the defendants and their assigns from moving or causing to be moved any earth moving or heavy machinery to the La Beachfront, whether or not to demolish the Polo Beach Club situated on the disputed beachfront land and from demolishing the Club.
Again, the plaintiff wants a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and their assigns from interfering with the usage of the Polo Beach Club Car Park Land by Polo Beach Club or its customers, patrons, staff, or interfering with the applicant’s ownership, possession, activities and general peaceful enjoyment of the said disputed Car Park land.
It is also asking for general damages and costs, including legal fees.
Sour Relationship
The suit traces the sour relationship between the two entities to a failed joint venture partnership which was largely as a result of the hotel demanding a “lion’s share” in the joint venture.
Polo Beach Club avers that faced with the “dire need to legitimise its interest in the disputed land”, it acquired a twenty-year lease of the disputed beachfront land from the La Stool in June 2022 at a total cost of GH¢1.5 million with the consent of the La Pleasure Beach Management Committee and decided to go solo with its Polo Beach Club business in the absence of cooperation from Hotel Investments (Ghana) Limited.
“Plaintiff avers that the joint venture stalemate coupled with its lawful acquisition of the disputed beachfront land from the La Stool soured its relationship with the 1st Defendant whereupon the 1st Defendant started waging war against the Polo Beach Club and its owners, including denying access to the Polo Beach Club through its entrance, thereby making the Polo Beach Club inaccessible to its patrons and customers.”
In 2023, UT Properties Limited, a valuation firm, valued the Polo Beach Club building alone at a market value of GH¢41.3 million.
The Club says the value today will be higher as it has since made significant improvements to the property which now stands as the single most expensive and most luxurious beach club on the La beachfront.
Polo Beach Club also denies claims by Labadi Beach Hotel that the disputed lands falls under an Executive Instrument and that the hotel has the right of prior consent to any structure raised on the said land.
Power Abuse
The suit avers that Richard Jakpa is abusing his office to demolish the Polo Beach Club and other four beach clubs operating near the Labadi Beach Hotel.
It said the hotel is using its connection with Jakpa to usurp the legal proceeding initiated by it against Polo Beach Club in respect of a piece of land on the beachfront which is a subject of litigation.
The suit categorically states that neither the National Security nor the government is involved in any attempts by led by Jakpa to demolish the Club.
“Plaintiff therefore contends that the 3rd Defendant (Jakpa) is on a frolic of his own to do the unlawful bidding of the 1st and 2nd Defendants in their resolve to circumvent judicial authority as he cannot show that he was working under the directives of the National Security Coordinator to execute the demolition of the Polo Beach Club while the suit filed by 2nd Defendant against the Plaintiff was still pending.”
BY Gibril Abdul Razak