CEO of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in court

Accra July 16, GNA - Four hundred and thirty-nine personnel of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital have dragged the Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and five others to court in connection with an alleged fraudulent transaction over parcels of land at Oyibi, near Accra.

They are to answer questions over registered documents covering plots of land they had bought in 2004 for plaintiffs, including doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians at Oyibi.

The plaintiffs are seeking an order compelling the defendants to possess the land for which they had paid 10 million cedis (1,000 Ghana cedis) each.

Alternatively, they are seeking an order of the court compelling defendants to refund monies collected from them, general damages for fraud, interest on their monies as well as cost.

The others defendants are Dr B.D.R. T Annan, Director of Medical Affairs, Mr Christopher Nartey, Director of Administration, Mr Emmanuel E.B. Annan Kakabaah, Director of Finance, Mr Alex Arhin, Secretary to Oyibi Land Committee and the Hospital.

When the suit commenced, the defendants did not file any defence hence plaintiffs filed a motion for judgement in default of defence. The defendants, however, filed an affidavit in opposition to the motion for judgement in default of defence, saying they were taken by surprise with the turn of events because some leaders of plaintiffs had entered into negotiations to resolve the matter. The defendants say they "had not perpetuated any fraud on the plaintiffs" adding that the whole transaction is purely an in-house matter.

The High Court therefore adjourned the case to July 27, to enable the plaintiffs and defendants to attempt an out of court settlement. In their statement claim, plaintiffs say sometime in 2004, defendants published in their in-house magazine, "Korle Bu Bulletin" and on various notices boards that they had secured a large tract of land at Oyibi on the Katamanso Road on hire purchase.

Plaintiffs said the said notices requested that they paid eight million cedis per plot and that the first deduction, which was the deposit fee of one million cedis would be effected through February 2004 Additional Duty Hours allowance (ADHA) while the balance of seven million was spread over a period of eleven months.

According to plaintiffs, they expressed interest and monies were deducted for the payment for their respective plots.

In due course, plaintiffs said the price per plot was increased to 10 million cedis, including an additional two million cedis fee charged each of the plaintiff to support administrative and documentation processes.

Plaintiff said they had all completed payment for their respective plots.

Plaintiffs averred that for them to believe in the integrity of the transaction, the defendants organised a group trip to the land ostensibly to show them their respective plots. They said the defendants issued out documents to some of the plaintiffs but they were found to be faked and were withdrawn. After a while the plaintiffs said they were neither given their documents nor the land although they had written reminders to the defendants.

Plaintiffs therefore contended that the defendants had defrauded them.