Three police officers charged with contempt in land dispute case

Three police officers have been dragged to the Accra High Court for contempt for allegedly flouting the orders of the court in a land dispute. Joseph Mensah, Alhassan Bawa and Agnes Borboo, all of the Property Fraud Unit of the Police Service allegedly prevented a party to the dispute from accessing a land located at Cantonments despite the court dismissing an injunction application against the party. The applicant for contempt argued in the application that the three police officers under the guise of promoting public peace had prevented him from getting access to the land and also had his workers arrested in spite of the court ruling. “Ordinarily, the applicant would not have served the police with a copy of the injunction application but events leading to the injunction ruling compelled the applicants to serve the respondents with a copy of the court ruling. Indeed, prior to the said court proceedings, Respondents under the disguise of maintaining public peace had stationed armed policemen on plots M1 and M2 to prevent him from accessing his land whiles the Respondents permitted the Plaintiffs in suit no. LD/0506/2022 to construct their building on M3 and M4.,” he argued. Substantive case The plaintiff in the substantive suit - DHM Constructions Ltd & Another had sued the applicant and two others seeking declaration of title to four parcels of land located at Cantonment. It is the case of the applicant that the plaintiff in the substantive case filed an application for interlocutory injunction against the defendants pending the determination of the case. According to the applicant, the court granted the injunction application in respect of two of the plots but dismissed same in respect of the two other plots. “That the court in the injunction ruling held that the 1st Defendant (Applicant herein) has land title certificate in respect of M1 and M2 and for that matter, the equities are not equal. The court, therefore, dismissed the injunction in respect of M1 and M2. Attached and marked as Exhibit D is copy of the court’s ruling on the injunction,” the applicant for contempt argued. Contempt It is the case of the applicant for contempt that after the court ruling, he served the ruling on the three police officers through the Inspector General of Police (IGP). “That despite the service of the injunction ruling on the Respondents, the respondents proceeded to arrest workmen of the Applicant on Plots M1 and M2 on several occasions. In most of these instances, applicant’s lawyers were compelled to go to the Property Fraud Unit of the Ghana Police Service for them to be released on Bail.   That in one instance after the arrest of the applicant’s workmen, Applicant’s lawyers visited the respondents in their office, Property Fraud Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Headquarters, Accra and again submitted copies of the injunction ruling to the police,” the application for contempt stated. According to the applicant, it was also reliably informed that the police were assisting the plaintiff in the substantive case to build on the other plots of land which the court had restrained the parties for entering pending the determination of the suit. It is the contention that the actions of the three police officers had virtually overruled the ruling of the court which was “clearly disrespectful and contemptuous of the High Court.” “That I have been advised and believe same to be true that the Respondents’ actions are orchestrated to obstruct or interfere with the orderly administration of justice, to impair the dignity of the court and respect for its authority.   That in the circumstance, I pray that this blatant disregard for the orders of the court is contemptuous and the Respondents in their position as police officers ought to be convicted,” the application for contempt stated.