By Vision1 FM
Copyright vision1fm
Landguard Violence Leaves New Legon Community Living in Fear
Residents and property developers in New Legon, a suburb of Adentan in the Greater Accra Region, are living in constant fear after a violent attack last Thursday by a group of landguards led by a man known only as Vandam.
According to eyewitnesses, the gang—numbering around 15 and riding motorbikes—stormed the area and unleashed chaos, physically assaulting anyone they believed was interfering with their activities. Armed with guns and other weapons, the group allegedly destroyed properties, including boundary walls, water tanks, and tools belonging to workers on-site.
One of the victims, a mason identified as Richard Korley, suffered serious injuries, including a fractured rib, and is currently receiving medical care at a hospital.
Speaking with The Ghanaian Times, landowner Mr. Jeff Bortey recounted the traumatic events, saying that attacks from landguards have become almost routine in the area, creating a climate of fear and insecurity.
“These people behave as though they are above the law,” Mr. Bortey lamented. “They roam the area with weapons, attacking anyone developing their land, and not even occasional police patrols seem to stop them.”
He described the events of Thursday in vivid detail, saying that Vandam and his group showed up without warning and began firing shots into the air, ordering everyone to abandon their properties.
“I was so scared. I ran and hid inside a nearby house just to stay alive,” he said. “They didn’t care who they were hitting. They just beat people and vandalized structures.”
Mr. Bortey also alleged that Vandam and his men were acting on behalf of the current Chief of Katamanso, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, and his relatives—Aaron Laryea Otoo, Ebenezer Quaye Kumah, and one other. He claimed that these incidents are not isolated and that the gang routinely patrols the area in pickups and on motorbikes, brandishing dangerous weapons including assault rifles and machetes.
The incident, he confirmed, has been reported to the Police Headquarters.
Also speaking to the media, Mr. Oko Borlabi, CEO of Bi-Fon Ltd., a real estate development company, shared his frustrations, revealing that he has been harassed for over three years by these landguards, making it nearly impossible to carry out development on his legally acquired land.
He explained that in 1994, he lawfully purchased 61.43 acres of land from the Nungua Stool, which was duly registered with the Lands Commission. However, complications began when the late Katamanso chief, Nii Otu Akwetey IX, allegedly extended his claim over adjacent lands—plotting an additional 14,000 acres on top of a legitimate 670-acre allocation.
That disputed land originally belonged to the Nungua Stool and was leased to the University of Ghana. When the lease expired and the university
