The John Emmanuel Kofi Quansah family has vehemently rejected allegations that KOANS Building Solutions, Chief Executive Officer, Kofi Anokye, illegally acquired lands at Kyekyewere in the Eastern region, insisting that the disputed parcels were legitimately granted to him for estate development.
Addressing journalists at a news conference in Accra, the Principal Elder of the family, Nii Otoo Hortoi II, challenged anyone disputing the family’s claim to the lands to seek redress in court rather than accuse the company of land theft.
“We, the John Emmanuel Kofi Quansah family, have granted portions of our land to Andrews Kofi Anokye, the CEO of KOANS Building Solutions, for estate development.
He has not stolen any land from the people of Kyekyewere or any other community within the area,” the family head declared.
The family’s emphatic response comes amid the controversy surrounding ownership of portions of the Kyekyewere lands in the Eastern Region.
‘We are Ga, but our ancestors legally acquired the land’
In a further defence of its claim, the Quansah family dismissed arguments that Gas, the indigenous people of the Greater Accra area, could not legally own land within the Apapam enclave in the Eastern Region.
The family maintained that its ancestral ownership dates back to 1890, when its great-grandfather, John Emmanuel Kofi Quansah, allegedly acquired portions of the Apapam Stool lands legally from the traditional authorities at the time.
According to the family, the acquisition was subsequently affirmed by a 1914 Supreme Court judgment, which it says provides the historical and legal basis for its claim.
“We are Gas, but our great-grandfather, John Emmanuel Kofi Quansah, acquired portions of the Apapam lands in 1890, and the Supreme Court judgement of 1914 affirmed that acquisition,” the family stated.
To buttress its argument, the family cited the longstanding presence of the Okyenhene’s residence at Adabraka as an example of how land could be legally acquired outside one’s traditional area of origin.
The family insisted that its claim to the disputed lands was grounded in historical acquisition records and the 1914 court judgment, rejecting suggestions that its Ga identity invalidated its ownership claims in the Eastern Region.
It further challenged individuals and communities contesting the ownership of the lands to pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels.
The family maintained that KOANS Building Solutions had not stolen the lands but had received portions of them from the Quansah family for estate development.
