Vehicles of Asante Mampong MCE, Coordinating Director impounded over judgement debt

The Asante Mampong Divisional Command of the Ghana Police Service has confiscated two vehicles belonging to the Mampong Municipal Assembly.

This follows a High Court order from a judgment debt awarded to the plaintiff, Vida Karikari, who filed a case against the Assembly for alleged unauthorized demolishing.

In February 2019, Ms Karikari issued a writ, claiming the following reliefs:

Declaration of title for a plot of land (PLT 8a BLK A)

Recovery of possession

General and Special damages

Perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, agents, and successor’s from having anything to do with the plot.

On Wednesday, December 2, 2020, the Court invoked order 36 of CI 47, dismissing the defense by the Assembly.

The plaintiff proved her claim in court on December 22, 2020 and entered judgement against the defendant.

The Court gave the plaintiff general damages of GH¢50,000 and a cost of GH¢5,000.

Upon the court’s order, two of the Assembly’s official vehicles, belonging to the Chief Executive and Coordinating Director with registration numbers GN 6227-20 and GN 8269-18 respectively were impounded on Wednesday, February 10 and has since been at the Mampong Police Station.

Speaking on Akoma FM’s morning show GhanAkoma on Thursday, February 11, Presiding Member for Asante Mampong Municipal Assembly Godwin Anto told the host Aduananba Kofi Asante Ennin that after the Assembly’s lawyers couldn’t appear in court for several consecutive times, ruing was given in favor of the plaintiff.

It ordered the seizure of official vehicles of the MCE and the Coordinating Director to settle the judgment debt.

Touching on the impact the confiscated vehicles will have on the Assembly, Mr Anto maintained that the “absence of the two official vehicles is a big blow to the Assembly because we are already under-resourced in terms of logistics so this will compound our debt as we will be forced to hire cars and commit extra cost for the operations of the Assembly.”

Meanwhile, Head of Local Government Services Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, commenting on the development, expressed worry, explaining that “all the officers whose inactions and actions caused the judgment debt must be surcharged and apprehended to avoid recurrence especially in other Assemblies”.