Land litigation: Achimota School optimistic of winning case

The Old students of Achimota Senior High School has stated that they are optimistic about winning the case involving Achimota School versus the Osu Traditional Council.

According to Chairman for the legal committee for Achimota School Kobina Hughes the request for a court injunction to restrain developers from encroaching on the school’s land will benefit the school for future purposes.

He said this exclusively to ghanaweb.com after the court adjourned the judgement of the case.

“We want to defend the school so that the kids we are educating get a good quality education without constantly been exposed to hazards” he stated.

Court Adjournment

An Accra High Court today June 19, 2017, adjourned the judgement on the case involving Achimota School versus Osu traditional council to July 17.

The court presided over by Justice Adumah Osei ordered the parties involved to make representation to the court by July 4 upon which the court will make a final decision.

Background

The Old students of Achimota Senior High School are in court to seek an injunction to stop the work of developers who have encroached the school’s land.

For several years, some parts of the 172-acre land belonging to Achimota High School have been taken over by land guards and developers who are putting up structures without permits which is threatening the very existence of the schools.

Several efforts to get them evacuate the land has proven futile since most Land guards claim they are the owners of the land and in some instances have threatened staff occupying school bungalows to vacate.

The school’s lands were acquired by ordinance by the colonial government from the Osu Stool in 1921 and an amount of 4,000 pounds paid to the elders of the stool.

But a protracted land litigation became murkier when the Osu Mankralo stool and a few elders went to court and averred that more than 170 acres of the land were not being used for the purpose for which the colonial government acquired it.

Therefore, the Osu Mankralo stool wants it reverted to the original owners.

The court then ruled in favour of the Osu Mankralo stool and his team and handed the land back to them.

But members of OAA are against reverting the school’s land to the Osu Mankralo stool, so they went back to court to seek an injunction to stop encroachers from developing on the land.

The court reserved judgement on the question of which of the 67 encroachers will be liable to pay damages for the destruction and to have their property repossessed by the School.

The court ordered lawyers to file legal arguments on this question by 4th July 2017 and for final orders in that respect to be made on 17th July 2017.