A 70-year-old woman whose house was sold to defray a loan for which her house was used as collateral has now become a pauper.
She has also distributed her personal belongings to friends and relatives to keep for her until further notice while she begs people for a place to lay her head.
The predicament of Mrs Margaret Mensah began on Friday, January 3, 2014 when her house, which she had built from her sweat and toil, was auctioned to defray a loan.
The auctioning was done by an auctioneer, a court official and a representative of IFS Financial Services after the case had been heard by the Accra Fast Track High Court about eight times.
Background
Mrs Mensah, a retiree, had allowed her house, located at Mataheko in Accra, to be used as collateral for the loan which her son’s friend secured from a financial institution some years ago.
However, due to the inability of the borrower, the Managing Director of Farmers Alliance Company Limited, Mr David Siale, to pay for the loan, the house was sold to settle his indebtedness.
Mr Siale was introduced to the 70-year-old woman by her son, Ibrahim Laryea Conney, who died during the litigation over the sale of the house.
Mrs Mensah, in an interview, disclosed that she agreed to allow her house to be used as collateral by Mr Siale because she trusted him.
The intricacies
Narrating her ordeal to the Daily Graphic at her new residence at Teshie-Agblezaa, Mrs Mensah said her family had distributed their property among other family members and friends for safekeeping as they struggled to get a place to lay their heads.
The retiree, who has three children: two males and a female, said she had been spending the nights in the houses of her friends and at other times with other family members.
“It is really disheartening the way I go about begging people to give me a place to lay my head each night. My children are out there in the cold, also struggling to get a place to live. I am very sure my late husband would be turning in his grave, watching us go through this ordeal,” she added, while trying to hold back her tears.
Meanwhile, she said she had received information that the new owner, believed to be an elder of a charismatic church, had not yet occupied the building, and added that all her attempts to get Mr Siale to help address the issue had proved futile.
Day of ejection
Mrs Mensah looked pale and downhearted, having endured so much pain and frustration because of the case.
She now lives in a rickety structure that houses a handful of persons from her extended family.
Elaborating her ordeal, Mrs Mensah explained that on the day of the incident, her household was fast asleep at midnight when she was alerted by a brother of hers to the fact that some people had entered the compound, seeking to throw them out of the house.
“We approached them and quickly went on bended knees for them to give us a day or two to pack our belongings out of the house but our pleas fell on deaf ears. They started throwing our belongings out of the house haphazardly. It was really disturbing to see a house I had built through my sweat and tears sold out to complete strangers, I felt I had wasted 70 years of my lifetime on earth.
I wished I were that strong to stop them but my age wouldn’t allow me”, the old woman opined, amid tears.
She explained that a court clerk, two policemen, who were well-armed, and two well-built men (machomen), together with four officials from the IFS Financial Services and three other residents who were contracted by the officials embarked on the activity.
Optimism
Mrs Mensah expressed optimism that the publication would help her find solution to her current predicament, since the paper travelled across the length and breadth of the country and abroad.
“Just look at the environment and structure where I am now housed. An old and ailing woman like me needs a serene environment to stay and not live in such condition”
“I have entrusted my faith in the Lord and hopeful that this publication would help me find some benevolent persons to help relieve my plight,” she said, while forcing out a smile.
Graphic campaign
Describing the plight of the 70-year-old woman as very pathetic, the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ken Ashigbey, said the Daily Graphic and its sister newspapers have launched a campaign to get a decent accommodation for Mrs Mensah.
Public-spirited persons who want to be part of the campaign can reach the News Editor on Tel: 0302-684024. E-mail:
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