Illegal structures on the Achimota School land have been demolished to clear squatters off the school’s property.
The exercise, undertaken by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), was also to pave the way for the fencing of the school land, which had been encroached upon by churches, slum dwellers and estate developers.
Eviction
The exercise, which caused a huge traffic jam on the Achimota School — GIMPA road, was supervised by the police and military. Scores of people, including owners, sympathisers and the curious, thronged the area to witness the demolition exercise.
Information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicated that the exercise followed a letter written to the AMA by the school authorities, notifying them about encroachment on the school lands, especially dwellers from Sodom and Gomorrah who had resettled on the school lands after their structures had been demolished.
The source told the Daily Graphic that the AMA initially informed the illegal settlers through notices to vacuate the lands. However, those who refused to evacuate had their structures reduced to ground zero last Thursday after the deadline.
Achimota School has been battling encroachment on its lands by churches, estate developers and the displaced residents of Sodom and Gomorrah who have relocated there and were occupying some portions of the school’s land.
At the school’s 88th Speech and Prize-giving Day in Accra recently, the Headmistress of the Achimota Senior High School, Mrs Beatrice Adom, highlighted the issue and appealed to authorities to help fence the school.
School under threat In her report, Mrs Adom indicated that four murder cases had been recorded on the school’s compound during September and October 2015.
Besides the murder cases, she said there had been a number of thefts in the school, including the vandalisation of the renovated school kitchen and removal of louvre blades, electrical and plumbing fittings by unknown persons.
Although none of the deceased were students of the school, authorities were worried and called for action to be taken before students became victims. The deceased were mainly strangers on the school compound.
The first incident involved a woman whose body was found near the games field of the school. In another case, the body of a beheaded toddler was found. As the school continued to grapple with the problem of encroachment, Mrs Adom said, the security of the staff and students was at risk.
The headmistress indicated that about 172.68 acres of the school land earmarked for expansion works had been taken over by encroachers. The squatters, she said, were gradually getting closer to the school’s facilities, especially the newly constructed Millennium Dormitory Block.
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