La community heads to court over La Pleasure Beach demolition
The La community is preparing to challenge the demolition of structures at La Pleasure Beach in court, as its lawyer disputes the ownership of the land and warns against transferring it to an investor before the matter is resolved.
Lawyer for La Pleasure Beach management and the affected business owners, Nsiah Akuetteh, says legal proceedings have begun to challenge the demolition, which took place on Friday, October 2.
Mr Akuetteh has described the exercise as trespass, arguing that the land does not belong to those who carried out the demolition.
He says the legal team will resist any attempt to hand the disputed property to an investor for development while questions over ownership remain unresolved.
The demolition affected more than 85 businesses and over 4,000 people, leaving operators facing financial losses and uncertainty over their livelihoods.
The dispute has prompted renewed calls from members of the La community for the state to address concerns over the ownership of their lands and the circumstances under which some were acquired.
Former Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Vincent Sowah, said the community would not accept its land being taken over without its consent.
“We may not have a La Manche today. We may not have an occupant on the stool today, but La is not dead. La is not a no man’s land,” he said.
“Nobody will take an inch of La land and take it away or enjoy it without our saying so,” he added.
Mr Sowah recalled previous confrontations involving the community and the military, warning that the community would continue to pursue what it considers its land rights.
“We have seen this happen at Plecho. The military beat us up. Today, the military has developed a place. It will not happen, I can assure you,” he said.
“A day will come when the military will leave there, and the La people and the people of Ghana will enjoy what is rightfully ours.”
Mr Sowah linked the dispute over La Pleasure Beach to the wider acquisition of land for the Ghana International Trade Fair, alleging that compensation for the acquisition has not been paid.
“I want to state this also categorically, that the Trade Fair acquisition was an acquisition of a whole. So in discussing this beach issue, it raises the bigger issue of the Trade Fair acquisition. No compensation has been paid,” he said.
He argued that the compensation issue needed to be addressed and called on the state to engage La traditional authorities and community members to resolve the dispute.
“And therefore, the land has not been properly acquired. It’s about time the state sits with the stool or the La people and does the right thing,” he said.
The former MP also cited the return of lands to the Golden Stool in Kumasi as a point of comparison, questioning why similar consideration could not be given to the La stool and its people.
“We have seen what has happened to Patase lands in Kumasi. Kumasi lands have been returned to the Golden Stool. So why not lands to the La stool and the La people? Why not?” he asked.
The demolition has left business operators uncertain about the future of their investments and when they may be able to resume operations.
The planned legal action is expected to provide an avenue for the parties to present their claims over the land and the circumstances surrounding the demolition.
The dispute also raises broader questions about land acquisition, compensation and the rights of businesses operating on disputed property.
The La community is calling for engagement with the state to address its concerns, while the affected businesses await clarity on the future of the beachfront.
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