Over 2,000 indigenes of Kpone yesterday embarked on a mammoth demonstration against their traditional council for illegally selling their lands.
The residents, holding placards and clad in red, marched to the community’s only cemetery where they demolished a fence, claiming the remaining lands to bury their beloved ones when they pass away have been sold off to private developers.
Wooden structures mounted by private developers around their properties were also set ablaze.
This action, according to the youth, was to send a strong warning to their traditional authority of their readiness to lay down their lives for Kpone.
Some of the placards for the demonstration read: 'Mr President, intervene before it's too late', 'Adjei Annang is behind the sales of Kpone lands', 'Kpone Traditional Council is full of thieves'
At a point, the police, who were overwhelmed by the swelling numbers of the demonstrators, fired tear gas at the Saglemi cross junction to prevent the angry youth from going to the traditional council to present their petition.
In response to the police action, the demonstrators also hurled stones at the men in black, who were not shaken by the crowd that thickened every moment at the cross junction leading to the Kpone Traditional Council.
The swelling numbers of the crowd necessitated a reinforcement of Formed Police Unit (FPU) from Accra, who arrived at the scene with five water cannons to help man the demonstration.
Samuel Nii Noye Agyemang, Chairman for Concerned Youth of Kpone (CYK), told the media at a press briefing that a bigger demonstration awaits the traditional authority should it fail to account for their stewardship in the next seven days of all the lands it has “illegally” sold to developers.
They alleged further that the Volta River Authority (VRA) gave the 10 traditional clans of Kpone an amount, which they failed to mention, but claimed that out of the huge sum only GH₵3,000 was given to the community as compensation for some high tension destabilisation.
Chairman for the Concerned Youth also accused the Sunon Asogli Thermal Power Plant Company for not employing the youth of Kpone, and further demanded a representation on the board of Sunon Asogli Power Plant.
The residents are demanding that Sunon Asogli Power Plant gives the Kpone community uninterrupted electricity power supply like Bui and Akuse are giving to the natives whose land their companies are situated.
The youth have, however, threatened to embark on another demonstration in a week if their chief fisherman and the traditional council do not render accounts of all monies they have taken on behalf of Kpone.
"We are ready to go on a fiercer showdown if our demands are not heeded. We have ceased to be fools from hence."
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