Land guards Rule Kwabenya

Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye is the Inspector-General of Police in Ghana.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday September 13, 2011.
THE LAND guard menace which security agencies have over the years struggled to contain is getting out of hand.

These hoodlums have taken over virtually all lands at Kwabenya and surrounding areas in the Greater Accra region, terrorizing prospective developers with impunity.

The police are said to be aware of the situation but are always overpowered by the criminals who use sophisticated and dangerous weapons including guns and cutlasses.
The leader of the bandits is believed to be one Theophilus Ankamah Aryee, who resides around the Kwabenya cemetery area where the land guards coordinate their nefarious activities.

Other known members are Aryee Quaye aka Bullet, who claims he is a relative of the Inspector General of Police and one Cobra, believed to be one of the perpetrators of the 1998 murder of two policemen at Ablekuma.

They move from land to land fully armed, extorting money from developers and unleashing terror on those who try to resist them and also pull down structures under construction.

All the criminals are said to be on the police wanted list but they seem to have neutralized the police and as a result, residents say they are “untouchable.”

DAILY GUIDE’s visit to the area showed clearly that developers were afraid to go to their lands whilst others said they were still living in fear.

Alhassan Abubakar, a resident who was recently hospitalized after being slashed with a knife by the bandits, narrated his experience.

“We were working on a piece of land which was bought by my sister when the land guards rushed on us with guns, cutlasses and other weapons to stop us and before I could explain, one of them slashed me with a knife. It is pathetic that we cannot develop the land we genuinely acquired. These guys are making it impossible for us to do anything,” he said.

Asked whether the case had been reported to the police, Abubakar said “the police are aware of the situation and I do not understand why they are not acting.”

Ibrahim Saddam, another victim said “they came around and seized all our working tools and also robbed us of our money. We are being harassed and nobody seems to care about it.

We do not want to take the law into our hands that is why we approached the police to act but if the police are not ready to stop them, we can also organize our men to face them,” he warned.

Lawrencia Anyase, a land owner explained that she bought her property about four years ago and recently when she finally decided to develop it, the land guards stopped her.

Almost in tears, Ms. Anyase said “I followed all the procedures required by law to get this land but these land guards would not give me peace. They are acting as if there is no security agency in the country.”

Isaac Ashley, another affected resident said “the land guards have created a sense of insecurity in the area. We have been to the police headquarters and the regional offices to complain to them to no avail.”