The acting Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Yilo Krobo Assembly in the Eastern Region, has been accused of leaving his official duties of which he was appointed, to engage in a senseless land litigation by fighting a family in Somanya over a piece of land which does not belong to him or the Assembly which he headed.
Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor, was awakened by news of his replacement as MCE by President Nana Akufo-Addo with Eric Tetteh.
In spite of many developmental challenges bedeviling the municipality under his watch, he had achieved nothing for the municipality, and so it was easier for the President to kick him out.
He is said to have used his position as MCE, to intimidate innocent people in the area.
Surprisingly, truckloads of building materials made up of sand, chippings and cement blocks poured on the said land under litigation, had strangely gone missing with strong suspicion the MCE is behind the disappearance.
There were complaints that some young men, believed to be land guards and agents of the MCE, were at the site to attack workers of the Gazo family, the owners of the property, leaving them helpless in the hands of the power drunk MCE.
The property in question, is 9.47 acres of land acquired under Notice of Occupation and Use by the Gazo Family of Tsyame-Somanya.
The family, had dashed the land in question to the government several decades ago for public use, but noticed that many portions of it, remained unused; thus applied to have some plots returned to the family and was granted by the Land Commission.
The acquisition by the Gazo family, according to the Lands Commission in a letter dated August 25, 2021, and signed by the Eastern Regional Lands Officer, Issah Mahama, “was in lieu of compensation for their lands occupied by Government Institutions”.
But the MCE, would not budge in spite of official documents covering the land shown him by the family as proof of ownership. These included a letter personally written to him from the Lands Commission informing him that the property he was fighting over belonged to the Gazo Family.
Not even a petition to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters against him, including notice of possible lawsuit by the lawyers of Gazo Family, Monte Christo Chambers in Accra among others, could deter him from his actions.
The petition, addressed to the Director General of CID, dated, August 18, 2021, and sighted by The Herald, had the Gazo family, saying the MCE, had threatened them over their land in the presence of the Yilo Krobo District Police Commander, Superintendent Andrews Anyani and the District Crime Officer, ASP Sylvia.
“He also said that he will make sure we don’t develop that land and if we continue to work on the site and something happens to us or our materials, we should not blame him,” excerpt of the petition signed by one Ebenezer Narh Agor for the head of Gazo Family; Joseph Tettey Kwame Gazo, stated.
It said that, “on the 17th August, 2021, at about 8:30am I had a call from a boy I have contracted to spray weedicide at the site informing me that someone had stolen one trip double axel sand and one trip double axel chippings from the site and also have spread the remaining sand of one trip double axel over the floor/ground. This I have officially reported to the police at Somanya to have the person arrested with the machine operator and the truck driver for prosecution.”
“The family thinks that because he is the current DCE, the case would not be followed to its logical conclusion hence pleading with the Director General/CID to have the DCE (Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor) investigated for committing this callus act of stealing and spreading of the remaining sand bon the ground arrested and prosecuted,” it added.
Below Is The Petition to addressed to the Director General of CID:
PETITION FOR REDRESS
I Ebenezer Narh Agor of the Somanya Ogome (Okper Wekpertie) have been directed by the head of Gazo Family (Mr. Joseph Tettey Kwame Gazo) to petition the Director General of Criminal Investigation Department for a redress of a case involving the DCE of Yilo Krobo (Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor).
A parcel of Land at Tsayme Somanya 9.47 acres in the Eastern Region of Ghana was released to the Gazo family by deed of surrender dated 21st August 2019 and stamped as No.LVB/ERST 442548/2020 in lieu of compensation over the entire land occupied by government of Ghana. The family started developing part of the land released by the Government.
On the 25th of July, 2021, the family head Mr. Gazo Joseph Tettey Kwame was cutting fire wood on the land released to the family, to be surprise the DCE brought Police to arrest him and the boys cutting the fire wood and was sent to Okperpiem Police Station. I was called and in was followed to the Police station to make official complain of the DCE’s interference with development on the land.
On the 5th August, 2021, the same DCE of Yilo Krobo (Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor) went to the same part of land to mount to a sign post with the inscription “Government Property, Keep Off”. The family head Mr. Gazo went with me (Ebenezer Narh Agor) to remove the sign post to lodge an official complaint at the Police Station against the DCE as an exhibit.
The District Police Commander of Yilo Krobo invited the DCE and Mr. Gazo to the Police station for an insight into the happenings on the said land. In that meeting, the DCE admitted that he has been officially informed by Mr. Anini the chief lands officer for lands commission – Koforidua that part of the government land has been released to the Gazo family and he the DCE has official written to the Koforidua Lands Commission to come and show the District Assembly the specific places that has been given to the Gazo family.
He also admitted that he was the one who erected the sign post on the land. He also said that he will make sure we don’t develop that land and if we continue to work on the site and something happens to us or our materials, we should not blame him.
He said these in the presence of the Yilo Krobo District Commander of Police (Andrews Anyani) and the District Crime Officer (ASP Sylvia) on the 6th August 2021. After his submission, Mr. Gazo told him that the part of the land he was developing is not for government and gave a copy of the deed of surrender to the District Commander and Crime Officer respectively.
In all these developments, we got the family lawyer informed and he wrote an office letter addressed to the DCE (Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor) to alert him of the illegalities he was involving himself in. This letter was served on him by Mr. Gazo at the District Assembly in his office on the 11th August, 2021.
On the 17th August, 2021, at about 8:30qm I had a call from a boy I have contracted to spray weedicide at the site informing me that someone had stolen one trip double axel sand and one trip double axel chippings from the site and also have spread the remaining sand of one trip double axel over the floor/ground. This I have officially reported to the police at Somanya to have the person arrested with the machine operator and the truck driver for prosecution.
The family thinks that because he is the current DCE, the case would not be followed to its logical conclusion hence pleading with the Director General/CID to have the DCE (Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor) investigated for committing this callus act of stealing and spreading of the remaining sand bon the ground arrested and prosecuted.
Further information revealed that the DCE had contracted some machine operator to go and steal the building materials from the site but they declined and in the few days the materials were stolen from the site.
The Gazo family is therefore petitioning the Director General/CID to investigate these unlawful and shroud behavior of the DCE in his involvement in these crimes which is not part of his official duties.
Please find attached the deed of surrender dated 21st August, 2019 and stamped as No. LVB/ERST 442548/2020. Hope to hear favourably from your respected office Sir.
Yours Faithfully,
EBENEZER NARH AGOR
FOR: HEAD OF GAZO FAMILY
JOSEPH TETTEH KWAME GAZO
—theheraldgh
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