Minister, 10 others cited for contempt

Eleven persons including the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Eric Opoku, his deputy, Justice Samuel Ameyaw Adjei, and the Bui Power Authority (BPA) chief executive officer Jabesh Amissah-Arthur have been cited for contempt of court in the Sunyani High court.

The others include the DCE for Banda, Alexander Bonsu, Wumbila Salifu and Chris Kuunifah, resettlement and environmental officers respectively of BPA, and Samuel Akonor of the Department of Game and Wildlife.

The rest are the Wenchi Divisional Police Commander, the Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion of Infantry in Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, and the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of BNI.

The application for contempt cited the 11 persons for exhibiting gross disrespect for law and order, and embarking on a conduct willfully calculated to expose the administration of justice to public ridicule and contempt.

Each one of them had either facilitated or personally taken part in the destruction of Dokokyina village on 14th April 2014, damaging properties and rendering the people homeless. According to the Krontihene of Dokokyina, Nana Kwabena Ofori, the DCE of Banda, together with Wumbila Salifu, Samuel Akonor and Chris Kuunifah led a contingent of military, police and Wildlife personnel to flatten all the houses in Dokokyina village with a bulldozer.

Nana Ofori said DCE Alexander Bonsu gave no reason for the action, but said it was the regional minister who had sent them to chase them out of the land. The destruction of Dokokyina was carried out at a time when there was a case pending in the appeal court in Kumasi against the Brong Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council, Bui Power Authority and the Game and Wildlife department.

The chief and people of Dokokyina had sued the three organizations in court for trying to evict them from their land, a portion of which government had acquired for the Bui Power project, but for which it had not paid compensation money.

The Wildlife Department was sued for claiming the land was a national park.

The chief of Dokokyina, Nana Kwadwo Kumah Domaka, explained that no part of Dokokyina land has ever been a part of the 1,821 square kilometer-Bui National Park and that Game and Wildlife had encroached on their land for 41 years by extending the national park unilaterally to 3500 square kilometers.

Nana Domaka wondered why the Regional Minister would not allow justice to take its own course but decided to “act as though we were under a military regime.” He said his people were only being repressed for daring to fight for their rights and challenging people who had the establishment behind them.

On 31st July, 2014, over 20 soldiers who had occupied Dokokyina village since June 30, chased the inhabitants out of their own land which is not part of what the government has acquired and burnt down their make-shift plastic huts.

According to the Gyasehene of Dokokyina, the soldiers said they did not want to see them on any part of the land whether it is theirs or not.

The people have since sought asylum in nearby La Côte d’Ivoire. Lawyer and solicitor for the chief and people of Dokokyina, Nana Obiri-Boahen, has condemned the conduct of the 11 persons cited in the application for contempt.

He described it as “intentionally and maliciously doing an act to scandalize the administration of justice.” Lawyer Nana Obiri-Boahen said their conduct was to all intents and purposes willful and impugned the integrity of the judicial system.

The people of Dokokyina, who are predominantly farmers and numbering over 170, left behind their food crop farms and livestock and are now living in misery.