Kpone Traditional Council sues military

Kpone, May 05, GNA - The Kpone Traditional Council (KTC) and Nii Joseph Kwaku Teye, Gbetsile Mantse has issued a writ of summons against the military for illegally occupying portions of the Kpone Stool lands near Michel Camp.

For some years now tension has mounted between the two over the parcel of land situated East of Michel Camp, home of the First Battalion of Infantry (1BN).

The writ which was issued at the Tema High Court on Monday by Mr Prosper Xorla Nyaho of the Afadjato Chambers, solicitors for the Plaintiffs named the Commanding Officer of 1BN, Chief of Defence Staff and the Attorney-General as the first, second and third defendants respectively.

A copy of the writ made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) stated that the writ followed a failure of the first defendant to adhere to several warnings issued to him by the Plaintiffs to desist from the unlawful trespass.

"Notwithstanding several repeated warnings issued by the Plaintiffs to the first Defendant to desist from his unlawful acts of trespass, he has rather intensified same with support of the officers working under him". The Plaintiffs have asked the court for declaration of title to the land situated at Kpone Gbetsile and bounded on the North by Gbetsile stool land, on the East by Michel Camp land, on the South by Tema Stool land, on the South-West by Gbetsile Stool land and on the North-West by Gbetsile Stool land.

The writ of summons is also seeking for general damages for trespass as well as "perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants, their privies, assigns, workmen, servants and all people claiming through them from entering and dealing in any manner with Plaintiffs land the subject matter of this suit".

A statement of claim attached to the writ stated that the KTC have been in possession of the land since time immemorial and that natives of Gbetsile village have been farming on it. It added that the council granted portions of the land to developers who commenced building projects on it.

The statement said: "Without leave and licence from the Plaintiffs, the acting Commanding Officer, Major Owusu and a group of soldiers under his command trespassed on the land and demolished the buildings constructed by Plaintiffs grantees on the land".

It concluded that "By reasons of the first Defendant's conduct aforesaid, Plaintiffs continue to suffer loss and damage". A petition addressed to the Executive Secretary of Lands Commission dated November 19, 2004 and signed by Mr Harry Attipoe, Registrar of KTC stated that a site was acquired legally on the Kpone Stool land for the military and Ammunition Depot on October 21, 1964.

It stated that a large area was proposed to be purchased in addition to the legally acquired land but noted that even though it had not been approved the military occupied and utilized the land in question. The petition appealed for the intervention of the Commission to avert a legal action.