The people of Hwakpo in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra region have resolved to resist ongoing land guard activities and intimidations by a group led by a self-styled chief identified as Hakpo Adi Buerty Puplampu.
The community led by the Kingmakers, the Akwerh family has petitioned the Ada Divisional Police command to intervene before matters get out of hands since they as a community are law-abiding but will not permit individuals with selfish ambitions to take the community for a ransom.
The petition written and sign by the council for the Akwerh family, Providence Law Consult on behalf of the people noted that there has been total peace since the establishment of the Hwakpo community by the ancestors of the Akwerh family in 1887 until recent times when an individual, want to take advantage of the demise of the substantive Chief and caretaker chief to install himself as a chief to the displeasure of the kingmakers who stand in unity.
Portions of the petition read, “From 2019 the village came under a series of threats, intimidations, and attacks on members of our family, hoodlums led by one Hakpo Puplampu.
Lands which are ours are trespassed upon by the same gang, to the extent of inflicting injuries on our family members on their farms”.
According to the aggrieved family, each time the family reports such threats and attacks to the police they acted without the needed urgency.
“We have also observed that Akpo Puplampu takes cover behind the police in Sege and Kasseh, for his nefarious activities, even to the extent of bringing the police to harass us in our own family home during a gathering” the letter noted.
The petition to the police states cases as evidence to their claims as follows.
“The family noted in their petition that on two occasions in November 2019 the Ackwerh family of Hwakpo was invited to appear before the DISEC of Ada West, for the determination of a lie they have told to the District Officials.
On 10 December 2019, at about 11:35 pm, Akpo sent his land guards to kidnap a visitor, one Mr. Onyloku Ahumah in our family house in Hwakpo. The assailants (whose names were later given as Buernatey, Alex Puplampu, Isaac Adi, Daitey Agorvor, Gideon Wussah, and David Normotey Nartey) whisked Mr. Ahumah into a waiting car, drove into the outskirts of the village and inflicted severe injuries on him. The young men from our family, upon hearing of the incident, called one Mr. Narh Puplampu (a relative of Hakpo Adi Buertey Puplampu) and warned him of impending revenge which forced him to call the assailants to send Ahumah to the Police Station at Kasseh. Members of our family lodged a complaint to the effect of the kidnapping but to date, we have not seen any action from the police.
They further stated that On 05 April 2020, Hakpo Adi Buertey Puplampu together with his land guards to annex Ackwerh family farmland which our nephews prepared for ploughing. On 28 April 2020, Hakpo Adi Buertey Puplampu again sent seven (7) of his land guards to attack another nephew Mr. Gator Ackwerh on his farm and subjected him to a severe beating, inflicting cutlass wounds on him. Both cases were reported to the Police and the assailants were charged accordingly, but the intimal responses by the police in these cases leaves much to be desired.
On 07 July 2020, Hakpo Adi Buertey Puplampu sent his land guards again to attack a developer who our head of family gave a piece and parcel of his land to, stopped his artisans from working and threatened to harm them if they returned.
At mid-night on 14 July 2020, Hakpo Adi Buertey Puplampu sent his hoodlums in an attempt to bushwhack Mr. Gator in his own house. This was reported to the police.
As we write to you, crops on a farm of Gator Ackwerh are being vandalized by unknown persons, and we strongly suspect Hakpo Adi Buertey Puplampu and his gang”.
Portions of the petition read as follows;
“We, the Ackwerh family, are law-abiding and that is our reason for choosing the legitimate means of resolving the cases as they manifest, but we state in very strong terms that we could have resisted them resolutely with them in our own terms.
He, the said Hakpo Adi Buertey Puplampu, poses (to his unsuspecting patrons, including some policemen in your jurisdiction) as the chief of Hwakpo, which he is not. We implore your good office to admonish your officers and men to desist from observing and patronizing him as such. For confirmation of who is a chief in the Ada Traditional Area, we, hereby, refer your office to make inquiries from the Ada Paramountcy.
We give you our word that we would co-operate with your office in any of such instances, as described above.
We hope that your office would handle the land guard issues at Hwakpo with all despatch, and deal with each case by its own merits, and not brand all the separate cases as conflicts in Hwakpo, which used to be the case.
We the Ackwerh family, wish you a successful tour of duty as the Divisional Commander” the petition stated.
Copies of the petition have been sent to the Regional Police Commander, the District Chief Executive of the Ada West District Assembly, the Regional Crime Officer, the District Crime Officer, and the District BNI Officer.