SDA hires thugs for demolition

A pensioner in Accra has accused the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church of using thugs to demolish his building following a tussle over ownership of the piece of land on which the property is situated.

The building, located near the Circle Station at Darkuman Official Town, Accra, is said to be the property of Abanga Adombilla, the pensioner, but the church, through one of its local pastors, allegedly led some youth to demolish the building, in spite of a district magistrate court’s order that the land on which the church is located belongs to the complainant.

Narrating his predicament to DAILY GUIDE last Friday, Mr. Adombilla said he purchased the land measuring 100 by 70 feet from one Ataa Aryee in 1984 and put up a structure to be used as accommodation later.

He said Ataa later died but the deceased’s sister by name Mary Ayele Hammond, sold a portion of the land to the SDA Church and subsequently sued him (Adombilla) to claim the entire land.

He said after the full trial, the Kaneshie District Magistrate Court presided over by Ms. Mercy A. Kotie, ruled on November 29, 2011 that the land did not belong to Mary Ayele Hammond and that Mr. Adombilla had been able to prove that he duly purchased it from Ataa Aryee.

He said following the judgement, he filed for an order to enable him remove the church’s structures on the land and it was granted on January 22, 2013 by the same court, that time presided over by Ms. Mariam S. Sinare and signed by Stephen Adu Darko, Registrar.

Mr. Adombilla said per the order, he got policemen from the Accra Central Police Station to enforce the order and so the law enforcers supervised the removal of the church’s structure from the land last Thursday.

He said when the police left the scene, the local pastor (name withheld for now) allegedly mobilized thugs to demolish his house, destroying everything in the process.