Ebow Brew-Hammond, a partner at Africa Legal Associates (ALA), has refuted claims that the building at No. 7 Fifth Circular Road, Cantonments, housing the Asaase Broadcasting Limited, was ever occupied by Justice F.G. Korbie or the Judicial Service of Ghana.
Brew-Hammond’s comments come after Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, released court documents from the Judicial Service of Ghana.
These documents alleged that the sale of the property, which the Judicial Service claims was last occupied by Justice Korbie, was unconstitutional and unlawful.
In an exclusive interview with asaaseradio.com, Brew-Hammond clarified that the structure currently housing the media company was not the same building purportedly sold on 18 July 2006.
Instead, he explained that the property was originally a bare land purchased by Fosuaba Akwasi Banahene, who later constructed the existing building.
Brew-Hammond further confirmed with Banahene’s son, who acts as his representative, that the property had never been occupied by Justice Korbie or the Judicial Service at any point.
“The property was bare land when purchased by Banahene from the Lands Commission, acting on behalf of the president, per a lease dated 18 July 2006,” Brew-Hammond stated.
“The assertion that the property was occupied by the Justice F.G. Korbie is confirmed by Banahene’s son, his representative, that the assertion is completely false. The property was actually built by Banahene and has never been occupied in any part by the Judicial Service.”
To support his claims, Brew-Hammond disclosed that a thorough search was conducted at the Lands Registry Division of the Lands Commission during the transaction, which confirmed the legitimacy of the land certificate provided by Banahene.
Additionally, a request has been made for a further search at the Public & Vested Land Management Division (PVLMD) to verify if the property had ever been proposed or allocated to the Judicial Service before Banahene’s acquisition.
“The search undertaken at the time of the transaction was done at the Lands Registry Division of the Lands Commission, and it confirmed the authenticity of the land certificate presented by Mr. Banahene,” Brew-Hammond stated.
“In order to check if the property has ever been proposed or allocated to the Judicial Service before the lease to Banahene, another search at the PVLMD will have to be done. A request has been made for the search at the PVLMD.”
Despite the Judicial Service listing the property among those it claims, Brew-Hammond suggests that the assertion it was last occupied by Justice Korbie may stem from a misidentification.
“Per the purported statement of case which was attached to the post by Okudzeto Ablakwa, the property does appear on the list of the properties claimed by the Judicial Service.
“The wrongful assertion that it was last occupied by Justice F.G. Korbie suggests a mistake on the part of the Judicial Service regarding the identification of the actual property which was occupied by the said Justice.”
He also questioned why the Judicial Service did not include the current lessees of the properties in their suit, pointing out that any successful claim would likely lead to further legal disputes.
“It is also odd that the Judicial Service has failed to add to the suit the current lessees of the properties they are seeking the declaration against. In the unlikely event that the Judicial Service succeeds in its case, it will still have to enforce the recovery of the properties against the lessees, which will undoubtedly lead to further litigation,” Brew-Hammond noted.
