In the wake of a Supreme Court decision concerning a 62-acre land, Empire Builders, the management of Trasacco Valley, a local real estate company, has cautioned individuals and corporate bodies against encroaching on its lands in Accra.
On December 16, 2020, the Supreme Court delivered judgment in the more than 20-year-old dispute over the parcel of land between Empire Builders Limited, the owners of Trassaco Valley and Top Kings Enterprise Limited.
Following that, Empire Builders who are taking steps to allow the judgement to prevail, has further cautioned against the use of land guards — a phenomenon of violent thugs often involved in land disputes or the claim of ownership of land on its parcel of lands.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, ordered that Top Kings retained ownership of a 62-acre plot that Trasacco had claimed to possess.
The other members of the panel were Justices Yaw Apau, Gabriel Pwamang, Amadu Tanko and Yonny Kulendi.
A statement signed by the Public Relations Consultant of Empire Kings, Mr Kwame Owusu Danso, said the judgment of the Supreme Court must guide the actions of parties in the dispute and provide the path to a harmonious business environment for all.
“We are calling on all sides to respect the court’s order,” the statement said.
“We ask that the other party stays within the 62 acres stipulated by the courts. We ask that the land guards are called off so the intimidation and threat to property ceases, along with all the distress,” the statement further stated.
“We also call on the media to carry out its mandate with fairness, guided by the truth and the ethical requirement of upholding the public interest always.”
Background
On June 24, 1999, Empire Builders sued Top Kings Enterprise Limited at the Accra High Court for allegedly trespassing on a 62-acre plot which Empire claimed to have title to.
On June 11, 2003, however, the High Court held that Top Kings was to “keep the portion of the disputed land that are already in its possession”.
The statement said the Nungua Stool subsequently transferred approximately 62 acres — separate and distinct from the 62 acres declared in favour of Top Kings by the High Court — to Empire Builders for valuable consideration.
It said additionally, the government transferred 57 acres of the parcel decreed in its favour to Empire Builders.
Empire Builders appealed, however, against the judgment of the Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court, and on December 16, 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s order, affirming that Top Kings should maintain possession of the 62 acres it already had.
“The 62 acres which the Supreme Court judgment allowed Top Kings to keep never formed part of the Trasacco Valley master scheme,” the statement said.
It further claimed that Top Kings was already in possession of the 62-acre plot “as far back as 1999, and by the time of the Supreme Court’s judgment in December 2020, it had already developed the area into the Kings Cottage Estates”.
