Ako Adjei mural was defaced by 'mad' people - MCE

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Korle-Klottey Municipal Assembly, Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, has revealed that mentally challenged persons are behind the recent defacing of murals at the Ako Adjei Interchange.

Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb, he said, “It has been a challenge, we are on it 24/7 but every now and then it happens and we have to go clean it. Sometimes, the Creative Act Council does the cleaning”.

According to Mr. Adjei Tawiah, despite efforts to drive mentally unstable persons from the interchange, they still find their way back to the spot to deface the murals with chalk writings and drawings.

Barely four months after the completion of the murals under the ‘Art for All Project’, the city woke up to unwanted writing on the beautiful walls.

Up until GhanaWeb's findings, it remained a mystery as to perpetrators behind such acts. But according to city authorities, mentally challenged persons are behind the puzzle.

“In terms of the defacing, it's not just once or twice, it happens. Initially, we tried to put the security taskforce while the work was ongoing, there are policemen at that roundabout and it is better during daytime…we have observed that it is being done by people that are mentally challenged.”

He added: “The National Security is putting up CCTV cameras all over Accra and the Ako Adjei Interchange is part of the sorts… it will not be necessary for us also. We will continue to look after the place and apprehend those who do that”.

The ‘Art for All Project’ by the Creative Arts Council was undertaken by the Ghana Association of Visual Artists and Accra Dot Alt in partnership with Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.