Achimota School Is Under Threat!�Developers Take Over Lands, Order Staff To Quit Bungalows

ENCROACHMENT on Achimota School land has intensified within the past few weeks, with estate developers and land guards threatening teachers occupying the school’s bungalows to evacuate or face eviction.

The land guards, who have been hired by the developers, over the weekend, issued a two-week ultimatum to the occupants in some of the teachers’ bungalows to leave before they demolish the bungalows with excavators.

Currently, they have erected an eight-foot fence around two bungalows in preparation for a takeover of the bungalows, and felled trees providing shade for residents.

A visit by The Ghanaian Times yesterday, to the western compound of the school, where the developers had encroached upon, showed huge mansions built around the Achimota Basic School, the teachers’ bungalows and over 40 acre of the school’s land.

Some of the lands reserved for research and agricultural purposes have also been taken over, leaving little space for teachers and students to use for practical’s.

A source close to the school authority, told The Ghanaian Times that the issue began more than a decade ago and had now resulted in a land litigation which was pending before the superior courts with the developers and some individuals suing the school for trying to evict them from the land.

The source said a court injunction had been placed on the school’s headmistress, Mrs. Beatrice Tsotso Adom, restraining her from entering the area where the developers were putting up several mansions.

According to the source, even though similar injunction had been placed on the encroachers they had continued with their activities, with the recent one being a plan to take over the teachers’ bungalows.

When The Ghanaian Times contacted the headmistress, she declined to comment on the issue because the case was pending before court.

It appears that fear has gripped the residents too following the rampant activities of the land guards who are bent on attacking any person who gets into their way.

A resident of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said two other houses which included the former residency of one Prof. Anyidoho of Achimota School, had been notified to vacate the property since it had been sold.

The person expressed the fear that if the school authority and government did not intervene within the shortest possible time, the school would risk losing all its land to land guards and estate developers.