500 residents left homeless

Over 500 residents of the Obom-Kojonto community in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have been rendered homeless following the destruction of their houses by a team of armed police officers.

Reports say the team of police personnel came without warning at dawn ten days ago with a man claiming to be acting on a court order to demolish the houses. The residents say the man claims he owns vast sections of the land that make up the community.

But the residents, who are mainly peasant farmers, say they have been living in the community for decades. They claim the land on which they have been farming was handed them by their grandparents.

According to Myjoyonline, victims of the demolition exercise have taken refuge in a school block.

The Ga South Municipal Assembly has supplied the victims with blankets and mattresses, but the residents say it is not enough.

Esther Ahianyo, a mother of six, who is breastfeeding her last baby, according to Myjoyonline, said she and her husband were not notified before the demolition exercise that has deprived them of their farmlands and source of income.

Also affected by the demolition exercise in the Obom-Kojontor community are elderly people, some 100 years old. Reports say they have also been left to struggle with how and where to lay their heads and find food for themselves and their dependents.

The residents are appealing for help as they struggle to cope with the sudden misfortune that has left them without a place to lay their heads, farm and a means to make a living.