A resident affected by the recent court-ordered demolition at Community 25 in Tema has criticised the manner in which security personnel and bailiffs carried out the operation, saying families were treated like criminals despite having lawfully purchased their properties.
Daniel Haruna Seidu, one of several residents displaced by the exercise, recounted the distressing events while speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem.
He said armed and masked police officers accompanied bailiffs to the area on Wednesday morning without any prior notice to residents.
“We were getting ready to go to work and were coming out of the house when I saw police and some civilians who were later identified as bailiffs. They came to the premises and said they were taking possession,” Mr. Seidu narrated.
Although he was aware of a long-standing court case involving the land vendor and another family, he believed residents should have been properly informed before the eviction and demolition began.
Mr. Seidu expressed particular concern over the heavy security presence, noting that officers were fully armed and masked even though women and children were in the area.
“I didn’t think it was the best because they were armed and considering that there were children there. I tried to engage them but it didn’t look as if they were interested in listening,” he said.
He added that residents pleaded for more time to pack their belongings and engage in dialogue, but their appeals were ignored. Bailiffs reportedly entered rooms, removed items, and locked the houses.
“They cleared the hall, went into my children’s room, my room and that of my sister. They removed about 30 percent of the things outside, locked the house and went away,” he recounted.
The situation worsened on Saturday when full demolition commenced. Mr. Seidu said between 13 and 15 houses were affected by the exercise.
“On Saturday, we had to look for another truck and people to help us salvage what we could because I still had about 70 percent of my properties in the building,” he said.
While acknowledging the existence of a court order, Mr. Seidu questioned why residents were not engaged or given adequate notice before the forceful operation.
“Nobody came to tell us anything. You couldn’t attach a human face to the process and engage the residents so we come to an agreement. It wasn’t as if they approached us and we resisted,” he lamented.
Many of the affected families remain devastated and displaced, calling for dialogue with the relevant parties to find a fair resolution and clarify the way forward.
