Twifo Ati Morkwa MP opens up on fraud charges against him, pleads innocent

The Member of Parliament for Twifo Atti Morkwa, David Vondee who has been slapped with charges of fraud by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service has in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb opened up about the details of the agreement he signed with Africa REI, the company he is alleged to have defrauded.

In a bare it all interview, David Vondee explained that contrary to the impression created by the company, he has no intentions of defrauding them.

Presenting the facts of the case, the lawmaker explained that his company Klenham Construction entered into an agreement with Africa REI (Adentan) Limited which is a joint venture between Sir Sam Jonah’s Mobus Property Group and AREIL Ghana Limited for the lease of a parcel of land.

Shortly after leasing out the land to the above-named company for $2.5million, some clans started to claim ownership of the land.

Despite being in possession of all relevant document that permits his company to conduct transactions over the parcel of land, he obliged to meet the demands of the clans for peace to prevail so that his clients (Africa REI) could commence their project on the said piece of land.

The settlement of the families has led to protracted legal battles which have made it impossible for the clients to access the land and use it for the intended project. In a GhanaWeb interview, the member of parliament confirmed that he has been charged with fraud by the CID but was quick to deny the charges.

“We have never defrauded any human being, not on earth. When this thing was ongoing, I contested an election and won the primaries. Then I had a call from the representation of Africa REI saying that I have used their money to contest an election and all that. I said no, that is not true. They told me that I either give them the land instantly or refund their money. I told them that I have already invested the money in other projects on the land. So they took me to the police headquarters and I went to write my statement. After writing my statement then the police said they had to send the docket to the Attorney General. They went to the AG, came back and asked me to write my statement again and I did. I was charged with fraud but from what I have told you, is that the character of a fraudster?” he told GhanaWeb.

David Vondee stated that like his clients, he has invested heavily in the land and stands to lose if the families regain control of the land. He is therefore doing everything within the remit of the law to ensure that all bottlenecks regarding the land are removed.

He disclosed that through his lawyers, three different proposals have been tabled before Africa REI to select the one they believe to be ideal.

“ I am in court trying to get the land for my clients and the matter is developing steadily. Once the case is over, they will get the land. We have three proposals on the table. They should wait for us to finish the case so that they get the original 20-acre land we agreed on or we are ready to change the land from its location to a different location. The third option is if all these things fail we are ready to agree on modalities of refund of their money.

“They said I have defrauded them but I don’t see any fraud in this matter. Having paid four families in this matter and still fighting another legality, is that the attitude of a fraudster?” He quizzed.

Listen to the full interview below