More than 400 farmers at Kwesitwikrom in the Agona East District of the Central Region have protested the alleged sale of 250 acres of family land to an investor for pineapple cultivation.
The farmers claim the sale threatens their livelihoods and undermines their rights as citizens. They have made an urgent appeal to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Minister of Food and Agriculture, National Security, President John Mahama, and other relevant authorities to intervene and halt the transaction.
They accused Mr. Yaw Nkum and Mr. Kojo Ayitey, alleged owners of the land, are allegedly using land guards, military officers, and police from Agona Swedru to intimidate them and forcibly evict them—resulting in the destruction of their cash and food crops.
The demonstration was organized to protest what the farmers describe as an unlawful and forceful sale of their ancestral land by the two men.
Madam Efua Kyerewaa, a widow, recounted to the media that about three years ago, Mr. Nkum and others destroyed her four-acre palm and coconut plantations along with her food crops, allegedly after selling the land to an investor. She said she received no compensation and now lives in poverty with her children.
Another widow, Madam Ekua Gyesiwa, who takes care of three children following her husband’s death, tearfully explained that her cassava, corn, and palm farms—her only means of supporting her family—were under threat.
She expressed hope that the Minister of Food and Agriculture and the IGP would intervene to stop the forced sale of the land.
Opanyin Yaw Obo, a member of the Yogo No. 2 family of Agona Asafo, speaking on behalf of the farmers, rejected Mr. Nkum’s claims to chieftaincy and ownership rights over the land. He stated that the land belongs to the entire family and that no collective decision had been made to sell it. He further explained that some family members have filed an interlocutory injunction at the Agona Swedru Magistrate’s Court to restrain Mr. Nkum and his associates from further action.
Opanyin Obo urged President Mahama and the IGP to help de-escalate rising tensions between the farmers and the Yogo No. 2 family faction to ensure peace and development in the area.
Nana Kwesi Twi IV, Chief of Kwesitwikrom, also expressed deep concern over the rising unrest due to the alleged sale. He reiterated calls for urgent intervention by the IGP, security agencies, the MP, and the DCE for Agona East to prevent any violent confrontation, especially any attempt to bring in bulldozers to clear the land.
The chief called for a peaceful resolution between the family and the farmers to avert any potential loss of lives and property.
By James Esuon
