Lawyers of True Light Worship Center (Trust Light Chapel International) have written to the Ablekuma Central Municipal Assembly, in Accra, warning it against recent
threats of demolishing their three-storey church auditorium in order to pave way for the construction of a non-existent road leading to another church.
True Light Worship Center intimates that the church has been in lawful possession of the land since 1990.
The planned demolition had earlier led to legal tussle between the church and the Assembly, with the later filing a writ at the court (Suit No LD/0272/2024), to seeking Interlocutory Injunction against Defendants/Respondents, (The Municipal Chief Executive, Ablekuma Central Municipal Assembly) from demolition structures on the Plaintiff/Applicant’s land and continuing with all acts of trespass until the final determination of the suit.
However, in their letter to the Assembly against the threats of demolition, lawyers for the Plaintiff mentioned that careful perusal of the site plan drawn by the Town and Country Planning Department at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and an Extract of West Abbosey Okai Planning Scheme with registration number TCPD/AMA/ABLE/SEC4/WABO/11/1 dated 04/12/2019, checked by Tijani Mumuni with the Metro Director, Eden Tekpor Gbeckor indicates clearly that there is no road going through the land.
“Indeed, this assertion was affirmed when the church recently made an application to assembly for a building permit to construct a three-storey church auditorium,” the letter indicated.
It said, the Assembly after it had done its due diligence and the relevant inspections, granted building permit to the church on the 5th August, 2020 which is due to expire on the 4th August, 2023 led by Ing. Justice Abdoni T.K., Municipal Head of Works.
It was stated in their latter that since the grant of the permit, the church has complied with every condition for which permit was granted and has put up the building in accordance with the permit.
It said: “It is therefore surprising that suddenly there is a claim of a road going through our client’s land for which the three-storey church auditorium has to be demolished to make way for a non-existent road to another church.”
The lawyers believe that despite their client having the right to express its claim before the court, they believe that, “this is a matter that ought to be brought to your outfit’s attention for immediate consideration and possible resolution” and mentioned that in the current circumstances, it is in the church’s interest to petition the Assembly to investigate these unfortunate developments and threat aimed at the church.
Meanwhile, some residents whose properties have already been demolished are calling on government to activate meetings to compensate them for what they described as unlawful demotion.