... As SAEMA executes ejection exercise

The Western regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. J.K.Ahenkorah, and his family last Friday stood in awe and watched as their personal belongings were being thrown out of their rooms like a flying butterfly by a taskforce from the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA), which owns the estate house.

Reason? Mr. Ahenkorah has reportedly refused to quit the estate house, which is located at Anaji, a suburb of Takoradi, after going on retirement over a year ago, to enable the metropolitan assembly to re-allocate it to workers who are still in active service.

Whilst the young metropolitan chief executive, Philip Kwesi Nkrumah, who is also a lawyer by profession argued that the action of his outfit has no political motive behind it, Mr. Ahenkorah insists the disgraceful manner he was removed from the house was motivated by politics.

Speaking to the Chronicle, Mr. J.K.Ahenkorah, who has been the NDC Western regional secretary, since 1996, said he was surprised about the way and manner officials from SAEMA, whose government is preaching the fundamental human right and the proper rule of law, have treated him and his family who at the moment have no place to lay their heads.

According to him, though officials from SAEMA claim he was ejected because he is no more in active service, there are people who have gone on retirement for more than seven years now but they are still occupying the estate houses with their families without any harassment from the metropolitan assembly.

Ahenkorah further told the Chronicle that even if he has refused to quit the house as being alleged by the assembly the proper thing to do is to go to court over the issue for the latter to give the ejection order but this was not done.

He said on the day that he was forcibly ejected from the house and all his rooms battered with wood, he had gone to the Sekondi circuit court and succeeded in getting a restraining order to stop the officials from going ahead with the force ejection but the court order was disregarded even though it was duly served on them.

Mr. Ahenkorah also told the Chronicle that prior to the assembly's action the latter had met all those staying in the estate houses, including those who have gone on retirement about seven years ago, and asked them to continue staying in the houses and pay their rents to the assembly and also see to the maintenance of the houses.

He was therefore surprised that SAEMA officials singled him out of the lot after staying in the house for just one year after his retirement and subjected him to such a humiliation.

"These are the people who preach the proper rule of law but look at what they have done to a fellow Ghanaian," he told the Chronicle.

When the metropolitan chief executive, Philip Nkrumah, was contacted on phone, he said under the normal circumstances, Mr. Ahenkorah should have quit the estate house within six months after going on retirement, which he failed to do.

Nkrumah explained to the Chronicle that his outfit did not all of a sudden go in to eject him.

According to him, Ahenkorah was served with several letters to quit the place but he refused to go. Nkrumah said at a certain stage he pleaded with them to allow him time to go and bury his dead brother which they agreed but on his return he did not quit as ordered earlier.

The metro chief executive further said Mr. Ahenkorah later sent the former Member of Parliament for Takoradi, Ms. Tabitha Quaye, to come and plead on his behalf for the extension of the period to March ending, this year which they refused and instead gave him up to December ending, last year.

He said after failing to quit on the agreed time they decided to eject him because there are nurses who are still in active service but have no place to lay their heads.

Mr. Ahenkorah has denied sending Ms. Tabitha Quaye to come and plead on his behalf.