A Sekondi High Court presided over by Justice U.P. Derry has ordered Managers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited to remove electricity cables they have laid beneath a modern office Complex in Takoradi.
They are Mr. Benjamin Kofi Afewu, former Western Regional Manager of ECG and Mr. Terry Darko, chairman of Mechanical Lloyd Company.
The order of the Court comes after the two were convicted of contempt, for defying an earlier court order not to carry any activity on the office complex being put up by Mechanical Lloyd on the Casuarina belt.
The court has set April 22, as the deadline for the two companies to remove the disputed cables, after which it would determine whether to impose custodial sentence on the convicts, fine or bond them. The office complex in question has been put up on the Casuarina belt following the sale of the portion of the land to Mechanical Lloyd.
The Casuarina belt stretches from the Vodafone Ghana to Takoradi Flour Mills and has been reserved for the beautification of the Oil-City. Surprisingly, the Lands Commission with the support of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) sold a portion of the reserved belt to Mechanical Lloyd to build its office complex.
The sale of the land attracted the wrath of chiefs and people of Sekondi-Takoradi who vehemently protested over the sale through a street protest but their call was not heeded.
The management of the Takoradi Flour Mill (TFM) and Mantrac Ghana which have their offices close to the Casuarina belt then filed a writ at a separate High Court to stop the Mechanical Lloyd from developing the disputed land.
The writ was also to stop the management of ECG from laying it cables in front of the two companies. The ECG had decided to redirect the laying of the cables in front of the two companies (TFM and Mantrac) as a result of the building of the Mechanical Lloyd’s office complex which was standing in the way of ECG.
Following the writ filed by the two companies at the High Court, the presiding Judge, Justice Kofi Akrowiah came down to gather first-hand information on the project and accordingly ordered Mechanical Lloyd and ECG not to undertake any activity on the land until the determination of the matter.
The management of ECG however went ahead and laid it cables underneath the Mechanical Lloyd office complex. It is believed that the ECG and Mechanical Lloyd collaborated to lay the cables underneath the office complex in question which cost them a total of $150,000.
TFM and Mantrac which was not happy with the development initiated contempt proceedings against the management of the ECG and Mechanical Lloyd. The plaintiffs (TFM and Mantrac) in their argument contended that the defendants had disobeyed a lawful order given by the High Court o not to carry on any activity on the land until the determination of the substantive matter.
The two defendants on their part argued that the order by Justice Kofi Akrowuah was against the laying of overhead cables and that since they passed the cables beneath the office complex, they have not defied any court order.
But Justice U.P Derry in his ruling found the defendants guilty of contempt. The Judge consequently gave the defendants the 22nd of April as a date to remove the cables laid underneath the office complex.
The Judge pointed out that the order as directed by his colleague was to cease any activity on the land and that since they have gone to lay the cables beneath the office complex, they have disobeyed the court.
Justice Derry contended the defendants had intention of circumventing an earlier order given by the Court and must be convicted for contempt of court.
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