Obiri Boahen sues Newmont for trespassing, destruction of property

Nana Obiri Boahen, a private legal practitioner, has filed a writ at the Sunyani High Court against the Newmont Ahafo North Project, for causing extensive damages to his farmland and other property running into millions of Ghana cedis.

He is, therefore, seeking an order from the court to compel the mining giant to pay adequate compensation for the destruction caused.

An accompanying affidavit filed by the “Enso Nyame Ye Chambers”, a Sunyani-based legal firm and counsel, is further praying the court to award general damages to the plaintiff for “trespass, inconvenience and trauma.”

A copy of the affidavit, made available to the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani on Wednesday, explained the plaintiff had acquired the land situated at Tomesereso along the Tanoso-Afrisipa portion of the Sunyani-Kumasi Highway and another tract of land at Tanoso in 1996.

Subsequently, the plaintiff cultivated teak trees in a straight line to demonstrate his effective occupation and possession of the land, and built a cottage, which had been in existence for almost 20 years.

“In and around 2021, publication was made in a national newspaper that the Government of Ghana was extending the frontiers of the road leading up from Tanoso to Techire through Afrisipa,” the affidavit said.

In response to the said publication, the plaintiff asked a surveyor to undertake the surveying exercise and the map was duly submitted to the Lands Commission both in the Bono and the Ahafo regions, it stated.

However, tbout a couple of weeks ago, the Newmont Ahafo North project caused “her agents to clear sizable portions of the land without the knowledge, consent and concurrence of the plaintiff.”

“The market value of the properties destroyed by the agents of Newmont runs into millions of Ghana cedis.”