Residents in Dwhenya have expressed dissatisfaction about the haphazard manner in which the OSU-WEM family led by Mrs Agnes Nortey Sai and her son Nelson Nortey, has allegedly destroyed peoples? houses by demolishing them in their bid to have paramount authority over the land.
This action according to people has rendered many people living in the area in a state of insecurity and also rendered majority homeless.
A fact finding mission undertaken has established that, several buildings have been pulled down and new ones sprung up.
Speaking to a representative of the Head of the BORBORYO Family, Emmanuel Tetteh Bornoryo Nartey, he explained that, the claims made by Mrs Agnes Nortey Sai that they have never or carried out any demolishing exercise at Dawhenya, is false and a total fabrication to throw dust into people?s eyes.
According to him, soon after a High Court ruling on the land litigation between them and the OSU-WEM family, Mrs Agnes Nortey Sai protected by about 50 heavily armed policemen and landguards, trooped to Dawhenya and demolished over thousand (1000) houses belonging to residents.
He averred that after succeeding in destroying the buildings, she also ended up selling over thousand acres of the Dawhenya lands. ?I can tell you that within two weeks to one month, she sold over 1000 acres of the land.?
?They did not only destroy buildings, but also destroyed our stone query, and they weaned our gravel concession without our authority,? Emmanuel Tetteh Bornoryo Nartey said.
He also indicated that, although the OSU-WEM family is claiming ownership of the land, they cannot be said to the rightful owners, as there are documentary proofs that the Borboryo family founded the village and were settling on the land before the OSU-WEM family came to settle.
However, checks conducted and some documents available to this paper from the Public Records and Archives Administration (PRAAD) Accra, Titled Certificate of Authentication, on the History of Prampram, indicates that, the tradition was that in 1726 when the Late Odoi, the son of Lanimo was the King of Kroboes, Shais and Osudokus founded the Kingdom of Lamino, the King of the Akwamus defeated it. Then inhabitants fled to different places on the Coast, with half migrating to Prampram and founded the Klei quarters whilst the Osudokus followed and founded Osu-wem. This, Emmanuel Bornoryo Nartey explained was clear indication of the fact that the OSU-WEM are from Osudoku, and for that matter cannot owe land in Dawhenya.
He also mentioned that the claim by Mrs Agnes Nortey that the OSU-WEM established Prampram was false. He stressed that Prampram was established in 1680, years before the OSU-WEM was found in 1726.
?So how can they be claiming they founded Prampram or are the owners of the land,? he asked.
This revelation defeated the claims made by Mrs Agnes Sai, considering the fact that the OSU-WEM was established in 1726, whilst Prampram was founded in 1680 during a time when the Borboryo family was already settling.
Also checks conducted with proven documents have revealed that the Great Grandfather of the Borboryos (Oshiokpos), Kwaku Nartey was the enstooled Chief in Prampram in 1928.
Interestingly, among all the fourteen villages (families) that make up Prampram, the OSU-WEM family is not part.
According to the Gold Coast Chief List compiled from 1934 to 1935 by PRAAD, the villages that once had a chief ruling in the villages, included the Prampram (T), Prampram (Kle), Abe Kope, Afiadenyiba, Dawhenya, Kofi Kope, Afienya, Gbohuenya, Mobolt, Ochebleke, Oshiokpo (Borboryo), Sugbaniate, Tenpobo, and Tetewalu.
Meanwhile, it also emerged that the OSU-WEM family during the Court hearings, stated that all sides of their family?s land were bounded by ?lessor?s land.?
This ?lessor,? according to the Court, contained in all of their evidence, and that there was clear admission that the OSU-WEM family land is bounded on all sides by the said ?lessor?s land.?
This, according explanation by the Court meant that the OSU-WEM family did not acquire the land by settlement as alleged, but rather were granted the land by the said lessor.
Also the Court upheld that the description of areas of settlement boundaries they presented in their evidence in their writ of summons, were different from the land claimed in the exhibits they presented.
According to Emmanuel Tetteh Bornoryo Nartey, all allegations made by Mrs Nortey Sai must be treated with contempt, and a mere frivolity aimed at winning public sympathy now that the case is at the Supreme Court.
