Nine individuals, including the former Alidu Seidu, remain under police detention after failing to fulfil bail conditions imposed by the High Court in Kumasi in the ongoing land fraud case involving public property at Buobai within the Asokore Mampong Municipality.
The court had granted each accused bail set at GH¢800,000, coupled with three sureties to be substantiated by ownership of landed property. Despite this, none of the nine have been able to meet the stipulated requirements, and they continue to be held in custody.
The accused face a total of twelve charges, including conspiracy to falsify land records, falsification of land records, fraudulent breach of trust, abetment of crime, conspiracy to commit crime, unlawful occupation of public land, and possession of forged documents.
According to the prosecution, the suspects allegedly conspired to unlawfully sell a 10.54-acre portion of a 19.06-acre parcel acquired in 1999 by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly for public purposes. The land was originally earmarked for a septage disposal and treatment facility following the closure of the Kumasi landfill site at Ahenema Kokoben.
After the project was suspended due to objections from segments of the Buobai community, portions of the land were allegedly re-demarcated and sold. In 2014, a committee established by the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly recommended that nine acres be reallocated to affected occupants on humanitarian grounds, while the remaining 10.06 acres were reserved for public use, specifically a hospital, under a revised local plan dated December 2014 and filed with the Lands Commission.
Investigations reveal that between June 2020 and January 2021, the land use designation was allegedly altered from hospital to residential without lawful authority. Prosecutors assert that following the revision, 34 plots within the section reserved for the hospital were allocated to five businessmen, some of which were occupied and others sold.
One of the accused reportedly produced a letter dated 20 September 2000 claiming the land had reverted to the stool; however, checks conducted by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly confirmed that the document was fraudulent.
Additionally, two other suspects, identified as the Kenyasehene and the Odikro of Buobai, failed to appear before the court, prompting the issuance of bench warrants for their arrest.
The complainant in the case is the current Municipal Chief Executive, Ben Abdallah Alhassan. The matter has been adjourned to 12 March 2026 for further proceedings, as authorities continue investigations into the alleged misappropriation of public land.
This case highlights ongoing challenges in ensuring accountability in the management of public property, particularly in instances where communal land and governmental oversight intersect with private commercial interests.
