My attention has been drawn to a story published by The New Crusading Guide on its front page on Thursday 22nd September, 2022, with the headline “Adu King’s Land Guards on Rampage…accused of attacking staff of Setho Classic Engineering Company.
The story made wild and malicious allegations that I hired the services of persons alleged to be land guards to attack workers of the said company on September 16 at 2:30pm on a committal land at Appolonia Kuberkrom.
The story also fallaciously alleged that said attack by the said land guards hired by me led to one Philemon Yawo sustaining injuries.
It also maliciously and disingenuously stated that the Ashaiman Divisional Crime Officer, Superintended Amegbemabiase confirmed the incident and said they were investigating the issue and that culprits will be prosecuted.
First of all, I am shock that a responsible media house will carry such a story without applying professionalism of journalism by cross-checking from accused persons to substantiate such allegations especially when crime is involved. I am more shock that a Newspaper of the standing of The New Crusading Guide could not do a simple fact check to establish that Kuberkrom is not part of Appolonia and Kuberkrom’s lands do not fall within Apollonia lands.
I am also surprised that my good name has been dragged into such wild allegations of using land guards when a simple check could cure the malicious agenda of the writer that I have for the past years being advocating against the use of land guards and their activities in any community in the country.
I wish to categorically state that I do not have any land guard(s) and have never patronized the services in whatever form. My checks about the reported incident revealed that it was faked by the paymasters of the writer. The picture used with the concocted story could’ve gotten from dubious source.
My diligent checks with all police stations in Ashaiman also revealed that such an incident has never been reported by the said company. In fact, the Crime Officer of the Ashaiman Division at has also vehemently denied to have spoken to any person or journalist about such an incident. He made clear that such a case has never been brought to his attention.
The question then is where did the journalist get the story from and what motivated him/her to peddle such malicious and wicked untruths about my person knowing the unpardonable consequences of such defamatory story?
Tema Regional Police Commander determined land ownership?
Another fallacy of the story is accusing the Tema Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Daniel Kwame Afriyie had determined the ownership of the land and declared me as the owner. How shallow and ignoramus?
First of all, police are not clothed with the powers to determine who owns lands and who doesn’t. It’s only the Land Commission or the law courts that have such powers. The police only come in to enforce the law when there are clashes over ownership of lands that can endanger the peace of an area. This is basic and any responsible journalist could not have spitefully accused a police officer of determining ownership of land.
The Land In Question
There has been dispute over the land for several years in the area which had always led to bloody clashes between the factions claiming ownership of the land under different Regional Police Commanders in the region without any solution.
The two factions claiming ownership of the controversial land are the Odaitse-We Royal Mantse-Man Family, who are chiefs or owners of the Kuberkro Township and its surrounding and a company named Setho Classic Engineering Company limited also claiming to have acquired the said land from the Kpone Traditional Council through the Apolonia Stool.
The Odaitse-We Royal Mantse-Man Family has always stated that, its land boundary falls outside the Kpone Traditional Council and accused the Company of using rogue tactics of trying to steal their land from them and people they had already leased portions of the land to.
The resistance from the Royal Family and people who acquired portions of the land from the Family for development against the Company owned by one Seth Kwame Sallah has always led to violence clashes at the township leaving many with life threatening injuries.
The Royal Family had in the past, organized several demonstrations against the Company accusing it of using dangerous land guards to maim innocent developers in the area. They had also accused the police administration of doing nothing to resolve the long-standing dispute over the land.
The Land Commission Report On The Boundary
I also acquired part of the said from the Royal Family. When I tried to take possession of the land, I was resisted by land guards deployed by the said Setho Classic and one Seth Kwame Sallah. It almost degenerated into clashes.
The Regional Commander moved in with his men and asked both factions to stay clear off the land so that his office would investigate and bring finality to the aged dispute.
He therefore, invited both factions including representatives from the Land Commission and demanded from the two factions, Mr Adu King who had acquired the land from the Odaitse-We Royal Mantse-Man Family and Setho Classic which also claimed to have acquired same land from Kpone Traditional Council to submit their documents.
This was to enable the Land Commission to pick the land and establish the boundary as to whether it falls within the Kpone Traditional Council land title or the Odaitse-We Royal Mantse-Man’s family land in order to resolve the problem.
The factions agreed to his request and presented their documents and the Land Commission together with police and the parties involved carried out the exercise sometime last month.
Finally, the Land Commission report on the boundary was read to both parties in the Regional Commander’s office indicating that the disputed land doesn’t fall within the Kpone Traditional Council.
The report further indicated that land falls within the Odaitse-We Royal Mantse-Man Family land which measure 1686.3 acres making Mr. Adu King who acquired his land from the Family a legal owner and not Setho Classic.
Mr Adu Francis King
CEO, F. A. Global Group of Companies
