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There was wailing at Tetegu, a fishing community in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region on Friday, October 20, 2017 after a massive demolition exercise.

Today gathered that management of Tare Properties and Development Company Limited with the support of Tetegu Mantse, Nii Kofi Kumah, on Friday ordered the demolishing of houses and makeshift structures in the area, rendering over 4,000 people homeless.

The exercise, Today further gathered, was as a result of a ruling by a High Court Land Division in Accra which granted the company an order to pull down building structures which the company claimed were illegally built on its 1020.36 acres of land.

The demolition exercise, according to eye witnesses, shocked many residents, particularly the affected ones, with many of them accusing the company of insensitivity.

Some of the affected residents who spoke to Today lamented that they were shocked by the move by Tare Properties and Development Company Limited.

“They just came and started pulling down our houses and makeshift structures without talking to anyone. We don’t even know what this is all about. We tried to talk to them and find out what’s going on, but they refused to talk,” they stated.

“…we bought these lands from elders of Tetegu and Aplaku Stools under the Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area in James Town, Accra. But management of Tare Properties and Development Company Limited said they won the court case, and that the court has given them an order to demolish our houses,” an 80-year-old woman who refused to mention her name told Today amidst shedding of tears.

According to another resident, Gladys Amewugah, if the company had served them with notices, they would have prepared accordingly.

“We were never given any warning. If they had told us a week before or even in the morning, I would not have left for work. A neighbour called and I rushed here only to find them pulling down our house,” she bewailed.

Meanwhile, Director of Tare Properties and Development Company Limited, Mr. Koranteng Koi Larbi, in an interview with Today confirmed the court order which he used with the help of the police to carry out the demolition exercise.

He, however, denied the allegation that his outfit did not notify the affected residents before carrying out the exercise.

He accused some elders of Aplaku and Tetegu of selling portions of his company’s 1020.36 acres of land to individuals and private organisations.

Mr. Koi Larbi claimed that the company legally acquired the said land from the late Aplaku Mantse, Nii Okoso Aplaku I, and Tetegu Mantse, Nii Kofi Kuma, for social and infrastructure development projects.

He stated that some elders of Aplaku and Tetegu allegedly connived with some opinion leaders in the area to sell some portions of his outfit’s legally acquired land to some unsuspecting Ghanaians.

He mentioned Elias Awuku Vorvornu (Wokunakpa), Okyeame, Mr. Livingston Atukpa, Queenmother of Tetegu Stool, Naa Kafui and Asafoatse, Mr. Happy Atukpa as people who schemed to sell portions of the land.