Samson’s Take: Mr President, let the court speak before the bulldozer

Private legal practitioner and JoyNews's Newsfile host Samson Lardy Anyenini has raised concerns over an alleged plan to demolish the Polo Beach Club at La Beachfront, urging the government to allow the courts to determine the ongoing land dispute before any demolition exercise is carried out.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, September 19, Mr Anyenini gave his take titled “Polo Beach Club: Mr President, Let the Court Speak Before the Bulldozer,” drew a clear distinction between the demolition exercise carried out at Laboma Beach the previous Sunday and the reported threat to demolish the Polo Beach Club at La Beachfront.

Government has explained that the Laboma exercise formed part of its flood-mitigation programme, with structures identified as obstructing the Kweche Lagoon and its water-retention system targeted for removal.

Deputy Chief of Staff Stan Dogbe also clarified that the exercise was not intended as a blanket demolition of businesses operating along the Laboma beachfront, but rather targeted specifically identified structures considered to be interfering with the flood-control system.

Mr Anyenini said that explanation was understandable but warned against using the Laboma exercise as justification for a separate demolition operation at the La beachfront.

According to him, information contained in documents before the High Court suggests that the circumstances surrounding the Polo Beach Club are materially different because the ownership and occupation of the land on which the club operates are already the subject of legal proceedings.

Land dispute already before the court

Mr Anyenini said Labadi Beach Hotel and Hotel Investments Ghana Limited commenced litigation in 2024 concerning the land on which the Polo Beach Club is situated.

Although that case was recently discontinued, he noted that, according to an affidavit now before the court, pleadings had already been closed, issues had been set down for trial and witness statements had been ordered.

It is against this background that Samson questioned reports of a possible demolition.

The affidavit filed by Polo Beach Club alleges that Richard Jakpa, Director of Special Operations at the National Security Secretariat, invited representatives of the club to a meeting last month.

According to the affidavit, Mr Jakpa allegedly informed the representatives that the Polo Beach Club would be demolished.

Among the reasons allegedly cited at the meeting were claims that the beachfront belonged to the government, that the area constituted a buffer zone, that the club did not have a valid building permit, and that Labadi Beach Hotel required the beachfront for expansion.

Mr Anyenini was careful to stress that these are allegations contained in an affidavit and have not been established by the court. He also noted that the officials and institutions mentioned in the affidavit should be given an opportunity to respond to the claims.

However, he said the allegations become particularly serious because the affidavit reportedly describes the proposed demolition as “non-negotiable and irreversible.”

According to the affidavit, representatives of Polo Beach Club reportedly informed Jakpa that the land dispute was already before the court. Despite that, the alleged threat of demolition was said to have remained.

Mr Anyenini said the matter has since taken another legal turn, with Polo Beach Club filing its own action at the High Court together with an application for an interlocutory injunction.

The application reportedly seeks an order restraining Labadi Beach Hotel, Hotel Investments Ghana Limited, Richard Jakpa, the National Security Coordinator and the Attorney General from demolishing or interfering with the club until the court determines the underlying dispute.

The affidavit further alleges that, despite notice of the injunction proceedings, information was received that a demolition exercise was being contemplated for Saturday, September 19, 2026.

Mr Anyenini said he had been informed that some individuals had taken steps that prevented the reported demolition from taking place on Saturday.

However, he added that the representatives had allegedly been told that the demolition would instead take place on Sunday, September 20.

Again, Mr Anyenini emphasised that these reports remain allegations.

He said he had seen no response establishing that the National Security Secretariat had authorised such an operation and noted that, according to the affidavit, the National Security Coordinator was allegedly unaware of the proposed demolition.

“Nobody needs a bulldozer to determine title”

For Mr Anyenini, the fundamental issue is not whether the government ultimately has a legitimate claim to the land, but how that claim is established and enforced while the matter is before the court.

He urged the government to respect due process and allow the judicial process to determine the competing claims.

“If government owns the land, prove it in court,” he argued.

Similarly, if an executive instrument covers the land, Mr Anyenini said the relevant instrument should be produced before the court.

If the Polo Beach Club does not have a valid lease or building permit, he said that too should be established through the appropriate legal process.

And if the land is required for a genuine overriding public purpose, Mr Anyenini noted that the Republic has legal mechanisms through which such a purpose can be pursued.

His concern, therefore, is why a bulldozer should be deployed while the competing claims remain before the courts.

Mr Anyenini also raised concerns about the involvement of national security officials in a dispute that, based on the documents he referenced, involves competing claims over land.

He cautioned that where private parties are already before a court, national security institutions should be particularly careful not to become, in his words, “the enforcement arm of one side to a private dispute.”

He argued that legitimate government action and enforcement of a private party's claim should not be confused.

Mr Anyenini ultimately directed his appeal to President John Mahama and the NDC, arguing that the governing party should understand the importance of due process because of its own criticisms of the use of state power while in opposition.

He recalled that the NDC had previously condemned situations it considered arbitrary or disrespectful of due process.

Now that the party is in government, Mr Anyenini said, the principle should remain the same.

“Government has changed. The principle must not change,” he said.

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

Tags:  

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.