Demolition exercise turns bloody at Millennium City near Kasoa
A demolition exercise at the Millennium City, near Kasoa in the Central Region, Thursday turned bloody when one person was reportedly killed, while two others sustained injuries.
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That was after military personnel accompanying the demolition team fired warning shots to disperse residents who were protesting against the exercise.
The deceased is said to have been hit in the head by a stray bullet.
However, the police said they were not aware of any death, saying the information they had was that three persons had been injured.
According to residents, the exercise was carried out by 21st Century Construction, a company owned by Mr Kofi Asmah.
But when contacted, Mr Asmah denied carrying out any demolition in the area.
Soldiers’ lands sold
He said while he was in the process of constructing the roads and a proper layout of the area, residents of the area stopped his workers from doing their work.
He said it was when soldiers went to inspect their land in the area that he requested them to assist his workers to carry on with their work.
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“The soldiers came to see their land and I said they should help us. Have I done any wrong?” he asked.
Mr Asmah told the Daily Graphic that most of the plots had been acquired by policemen, customs and military officers, as well as others.
According to him, the soldiers were in the area to inspect their land, part of which had been encroached upon and sold by land guards.
Litigation
The Chief of Kojo Oku, where the incident took place, Nana Haruna Akpakli-Ocansey, said the issue of the ownership of the land had been in court for about 12 years now and wondered why the demolition of structures.
“We have nowhere to go because that is where we have been since 1969,” he said, and dismissed Mr Asmah’s assertion that he did not carry out any demolition in the area.
The Kasoa Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr Joseph Gyamerah Oklu, said the police were still investigating the matter.
“We have information that three people are injured and all of them have been sent to hospital.
“We are still investigating the incident, as we want to find out what exactly happened,” he said.
Victim
An injured victim, Mr Ezekiel Ocansey, whose leg had been bandaged, with bloodstains, said it was when they were protesting against the demolition of their structures that the soldiers opened fire on them.
“As you can see, a bullet passed through my left leg,” he said, and indicated that he was the second person to be shot.
Another resident who gave his name only as Mustapha wondered why there had been no court order before the demolition.