Traders at Twifo Hemang in the Hemang Lower Denkyira District of the Central Region on Monday, October 24, 2022, protested the demolition of structures in the area under the directives of the Chief of the town, Otumfour Amoah Sasraku IV.
The traders described the demolition exercise conducted by some macho men as illegal and has accused the chief of the area for masterminding the demolition.
The aggrieved traders indicated that they were served no notice but only woke up to see the well-built men pulling down their structures.
According to them, they legally acquired the place from the Roman Catholic Church in the area, however the chief says he wants to use the place for a lorry park hence his decision to vacate them off the land.
They claimed he is parking them off the land without providing them with any alternative, a situation they said does not auger well.
“We were working here peacefully until the chief asked us to vacate the place, so we asked for an alternative place…. we never got any response until the macho men came to demolish the structures.
“The chief ordered people to come and sack us from the place, so in their first attempt, they came to destroy the roofing of our shops before returning to demolish our structures.
“They are evicting us here where do they want us to go, all our electrical connections have been disconnected so we don’t know how to get power to carry out our duties,” the affected traders told Kwame Owusu Asante Shadrack.
A male victim who expressed his anger disclosed that the situation has forced her pregnant wife to deliver prematurely.
“If you take a look at the container, it belongs to me, and my wife and that’s where she keeps her onions. The moment she received the news; her pressure went high and was rushed to the hospital where she delivered prematurely. When I visited her at the hospital, the doctors told me that her time of delivering was not due…” a male resident narrated.
He condemned the chief’s actions and threatened to summon the chief before the gods.
Having reported the matter to both the District Assembly and the Police without any positive outcome, the traders has vowed to fight back.
Meanwhile, the acting president of the Twifoman Traditional Area, Nana Twumasi Ankrah speaking on behalf of the chief, Nana Amoah Sasraku debunked the claim that no alternative place has been provided.
He also emphasized that the Roman Catholic Church does not have the legal right to lease the land to third parties because the “Roman Church came here for mission works and does not sell lands.”
