Crime & Punishment of Monday, 15 June 2015

Source: Daily Guide

Contempt against Tema Police Chief thrown out

DCOP DCOP

An Accra high court has struck out a suit against the Tema Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Beatrice Zakpaa Vib-Sanziri and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Karim Atuluk, the Operations Commander.

The court’s decision to discharge the two police officers, including David Nuamah and Alfred Ankamah Nuamah, managers of NAAK Estates Ltd., in the contempt suit filed against them by Kwame Sallah, Managing Director of Setho Classic and Engineering Company Limited, was as a result of a court injunction on a parcel of land at Kubekro where the police officer deployed men to.

According to the applicant, the regional commander, the operations commander and two civilians were in contempt of a court ruling which barred anyone from interfering in the land issue following a court case between HFC and Setho Classic and Engineering Company Ltd.

Per the judgment which DAILY GUIDE is in possession of a copy, the Tema regional police commander deployed personnel to Kubekro, following reports from persons living in and around Apollonia, Santoe, Asebi, Kubekro No.2 – all suburbs of Ashaiman – about activities of Mr. Sallah, some of which they claimed, breached the peace of the communities.

Some of the reports were that Mr. Sallah had been engaging land guards to terrorize law-abiding citizens, preventing them from going about their normal duties.

The command was said to have received a similar complaint somewhere last year to the effect that Mr. Sallah had again engaged armed land guards to attack some workers on the piece of land at Kubekro.

With that information, the command dispatched personnel to maintain peace and order at the place. It was against such report that Mr. Sallah filed a contempt suit against the regional commander and its operations commander – for disregarding a court order which restrained anyone from entering the land.

But a statement signed by ASP Juliana Obeng, the Public Relations Officer of the Tema Regional Command maintained, “The command will like to state that it will continue to carry out its legally mandated work, without fear or favour, and will advise that anyone who has a problem must channel their grievances through the right means and not take the laws into their own hands since no one is above the law.”