The land grabbing spree embarked on by the Kufuor administration did not only affect lands and buildings at plush residential areas in the country, but was extended to vital National Security installations.
Although, it may sound ridiculous, it is true that the property grabbing craze was extended to the Prisons complex at Maamobi in Accra.
At the helm of affairs to dispose of the lands, which was acquired by the Prisons Service in 1950, was one of ex-President Kufuor�s trusted men, Mr. Kwamena Bartels, who was Minister for the Interior during the land grab.
Mr. Bartels was alleged to have led the crusade to dispose of lands that could have facilitated the construction of an ultra-modern complex for the service.
The then minister, according to documents gleaned by The Enquirer, clandestinely wrote to the Prisons Service to make moves to relocate to Dowernu, on the outskirt of Accra, with the excuse that prisons, could not be located in the heart of town.
Mr. Bartels wrote several letters to the Ghana Prisons Service, all in his bid to lay hands on the land.
He indeed gave the go-ahead for the rezoning of 12 residential plots of the Prisons� property.
Former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, is one of the former ministers believed to have benefited from Mr. Bartels� action.
In fact, the former Deputy Foreign Minister�s building on the land has progressed steadily.
Apart from her, one Mrs. Frances Ivy Anim, an educationist, also benefited from the appropriated Prisons Service land.
She has even gone to the extent of securing a court order to break a portion of the fence wall that the service has constructed to secure its land.
In 1950, a certificate of allocation was issued to the Prisons Service for 322.68 acres of land.
The service is presently occupying 96 acres of the land, which for years has been suffering from encroachment.
Interestingly, when the change of government occurred in 2009, the service moved in swiftly to secure its land.
However, Ms. Botchwey�s property on the land was left untouched because the Prisons authorities felt that the project had gotten to an advanced stage.
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