A High Court Judge and Court of Appeal nominee, Mrs. Gifty Agyei Addo, and her husband, Mr. Maxwell Agyei Addo are reported to have been at the center of an alleged illegal demolishing fence wall on disputed land at Mariville Homes Estate at Manet Road at Spintex in Accra.
The said operation was led by Mr. Maxwell Agyei Addo in the company of six-armed but masked Police Officers allegedly from the Property Fraud Unit of the Ghana Police Service headquarters in Accra.
The incident was reported to have taken place on the night of Sunday, March 27, 2022 at about 8:25pm.
According to one of the Estate Security (name withheld) who witnessed what happened said, at about 8:20pm, whiles leading a guest in a direction to a tenant’s house in the estate, he saw one civilian and six-armed Police Officers in a mask coming out of the house of Mr. and Mrs. Agyei Addo.
He continued that after greeting them, their looks made him suspicious making him hurriedly return to see where they were going. He said upon reaching where the walls were demolished, he saw the six-armed Police Officers pulling down the walls with mallet hummer whiles Mr. Agyei Addo stood and watch.
The security man continued that after gathering the courage to confront them, Mr. Agyei Addo said he brought the Police officers to do the demolishing exercise on his orders adding that “…I’m Maxwell Agyei Addo, go and tell your boss that I am demolishing the walls and will do it ten times as many as she constructs it”
In an interview with Awake News, the Foreman of the Estate said, they started constructing the walls on Saturday and completed it on Sunday, March 27, 2022 after a previous one to the knee level has earlier been pulled down. He also told Awake News that he received a call around 9pm saying the walls have been pulled down. According to him one of the neighbours in the estate told him that he saw Mr. Agyei Addo and six masked Police officers undertaking the exercise but he was silenced after confronting them as to why they were doing the demolishing at night and whether or not they had a court order to do so.
The Estate Manager, Paa Kwesi told Awake News’ Efo Korsi Senyo that the matter has since been reported to the Manet Police.
Interview with Mr. Maxwell Agyei Addo:
Mr. Agyei Addo confirmed that he brought the Police Officers from the Property Fraud Unit of the Ghana Police Service headquarters where they had filed a complaint of trespass on their land. According to him, he ordered the Police Officers to pull down the wall because the land belongs to him and his wife, Mrs. Gifty Agyei Addo. He said they bought the land from Mariville Estate sometime in 20002 but Maria O’Sullivan, the Managing Director of the Estate prevented them from developing it forcing them to go to court.
He revealed that the case is currently at the Court of Appeal but has seen no reason why Maria O’Sullivan will attempt to construct the fence walls hence their decision to pull it down the second time.
When asked if the demolishing exercise was an order from the Court, he answered no and why the Police Officers were in a mask and had to undertake the exercise at the night, this is what he had to say:
“Only was of the Police Officers was masked because he lives around the Estate and does not want people to identify him. Also, it was done at night because I had gone to work and that was the time I came back”
When he was asked why he has not brought the matter before the attention Court through his lawyers since the said dispute is before the court, this is what he had to say:
“…You don’t understand the law…. You know the story, what I will advise: if you want your peace, don’t try it to make it into the news otherwise your paper be sued for a huge sum of money….”
He further stated that he has furnished the Court with all their documents proving that the land belongs to him and his wife.
But when Awake News’ Efo Korsi Senyo drew his attention to the High Court judgment which is being appealed that; the Court [the High Court] found out that the site plan bearing his name and that of the wife “Mr. Maxwell Agyei Addo and Mrs. Gifty Agyei Addo” in “exhibit B” could not have been given to them by the Mariville Estate as he claimed in Paragraph 11 of his whiteness statement since the company repossessed the land in 2010 – thus 4years earlier before the said site plan has been generated, this is what he had to say:
“…. Look if you try, I will sue you. I have done nothing criminal in demolishing the walls for the second time, if not by now the Manet Police could have arrested me by now because the matter is there”
At the Manet Police Station, the Station Officer, Mr. Okai told Awake News’ Efo Korsi Senyo on Monday, March 28, 2022 that “Yes, the matter had been brought to our attention some few hours ago but I asked the Estate Manager, Paa Kwesi to come with the security man who claims to have witnessed the exercise for their statement after which the investigators will go there to ascertain the allegations”
Excepts of the judgment reads:
“Although the defendant (Mariville Homes Ltd) did not contest the suit it was evident from an examination of exhibit B (the site plan) that it could not have been prepared by the Defendant as the Plaintiff (Maxwell Agyei Addo) asserted in his witness statement.”
“This is because the plaintiff claimed that the defendant repossessed the land in dispute in 2010. It can be deduced from the evidence adduced by the plaintiff that exhibit B was prepared four years after the defendant had repossessed the land in dispute”
“….it was highly improbable that the defendant would give exhibit B to the plaintiff after it has repossessed the land in dispute. It is more probable that the exhibit was prepared by the plaintiff in the contemplation of litigation”
Interview with Maria O’Sullivan:
Maria O’Sullivan who is currently in Dubai, whiles responding to the allegation that the matter is in Court and why she chose to construct a wall on the land, this is what she had to say:
“…look, the said judgment had no description of the land Mr. Maxwell Agyei Addo and the wife Gifty Agyei Addo are claiming as the Court even made it clear that the site plan they filed not what was given them…”
“When I sold the land to them, they didn’t take the document because Gifty the wife said they didn’t like some of the rules and covenants in the lease agreement. She said she is a lawyer and that she will prepare her own lease agreement for me to sign but I said no.”
“They both had made wooden structures on the said land and it was occupied by a couple and family who were selling banku and Akpeteshei in the gated community. Every effort for them to remove them failed. I then went and reported to the Assembly and they came and demolish the wooden structure. In 2010 Mariville repossessed the said land. Mr Maxwell Addo was invited to come for their purchase money but he refused”
“Mrs Gifty Agyei Addo and her Husband Maxwell live in the Mariville gated Community but refused to pay security fees. When confronted she said had placed an injunction on the Company in the year 2007 not to collect any monies from Home Owners. Even though the injunction had been thrown out of Court she still insists that it’s still holding.”
Gifty Agyei Addo’s complaint to the Manet police on trespass:
According to Maria O’Sullivan, Mrs. Gifty Agyei Addo first reported herself and her Personal Assistant, Paa Kwesi to the Manet Police alleging they have trespassed on their land. But when the Police asked her to produce the documents covering the land, she failed but rather showed the Police an unsigned judgment from the Court, and about three days later they went to demolish the wall.
Maria said she had then written to the Manet Police stating that since their investigation could not establish the claims of Gifty, he will go ahead and reconstruct the walls.
According to her, on the morning of Tuesday, March 29, 2022, some armed Police Officers claiming to have come from the Police Headquarters stormed the Estate to arrest Paa Kwesi for trespassing on the land of Gifty Agyei Addo. Their superior, Atuluk Karim who is said to have spoken to the Manet Police said a case of trespass was filed at the Police Headquarters by Mrs. Gifty Agyei Addo against Paa Kwesi and Maria O’Sullivan.
The arrest could not be made as the Police Officers from the Headquarters failed to respect the jurisdictional procedures of the Ghana Police Service.
Interview with Mrs. Gifty Agyei Addo:
In an interview with Mrs. Gifty Agyei Addo, to respond to the allegations, this is what he told Awake News’ Efo Korsi Senyo; “What is this?, I don’t think this is good for a judge. You go ahead and publish anything and I will take you on” whiles dropping the call.
More coming soon.