Land Encroachment Erupts into Shooting at Celebrity Golf Club: Police Arrest Three After Attack on Patrons
The Accra Regional Police Command has detained three suspects following a brazen shooting at the Celebrity Golf Club in Sakumono, Accra, on Saturday evening, October 18, which eyewitnesses describe as an assault by alleged land encroachers on club patrons.
The incident, which sent golfers and visitors scrambling for cover amid open gunfire at the clubhouse, has heightened tensions over ongoing disputes threatening the 18-hole facility’s survival.
In an official statement released Sunday morning, the Ghana Police Service confirmed the arrests and launched a probe into the violence that disrupted the club’s weekend activities.
“Three persons have so far been arrested in connection with the incident, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend any other persons involved,”
the statement read, assuring the public of a thorough investigation with updates to follow.
Police have yet to release the suspects’ identities or the motive, but preliminary accounts point to escalating conflicts over land encroachments that have plagued the club for months.
Video footage circulating on social media captured the chaos: armed individuals, purportedly developers, storming the clubhouse and exchanging fire, with patrons fleeing as bullets rang out.
Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) member Stephen Atubiga, who was present, claimed the attack was a “failed assassination attempt” on his life, demanding state protection and crediting “divine intervention” for his escape.
Atubiga, a vocal critic of land grabs, alleged the gunmen targeted him amid broader political sensitivities.
The Celebrity Golf Club, a premier 18-hole course in Tema West Municipality inaugurated in 1989, has been a hotspot for such disputes since early 2025. Despite a June 2024 court ruling affirming its northern boundary as part of a protected Ramsar wetland under Ghana’s Wetland Management Regulations (L.I. 1690), encroachers have persisted, clearing land for construction in defiance of injunctions.
Club leaders, including Captain Alex Oppong Baffoe, petitioned the Inspector-General of Police in June and rallied protests in July, warning that unchecked development could doom Ghana’s golfing heritage and the site’s role as an Air Force training and disaster evacuation hub.
This latest violence underscores the perils of Ghana’s land tenure battles, where disputes often spill into deadly confrontations.
As investigations unfold, club officials and patrons are calling for immediate security reinforcements and swift justice to safeguard the venue, a beloved escape for Accra’s elite and a symbol of the nation’s sporting legacy.
