Farmer Granted GH¢800,000 Bail Over Alleged Double Sale of Land to Two Institutions
The Accra Circuit Court One has granted bail in the sum of GH¢800,000 to a farmer who allegedly sold the same piece of land to two separate institutions, in a case that underscores the persistent challenge of conflicting land grants in Ghana.
Peter Ashiatey Chartey, 53, a farmer and current head of the Chartey Wem Royal Family, one of the sub-gates of the Lekpejedorm and Lekpejiti families of Kordiabe, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and conflicting grant of land. The court ordered that bail be secured with three sureties, each justified with landed property valued at no less than the bail sum.
His alleged accomplices, Albert Awah and Godson Martey Aborbi, both members of the Lekpejedorm and Lekpejiti families, remain at large. Samuel Essuman, the Managing Director of GEYC Company Limited, who has been charged with trespass, is also evading arrest.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Issah Achiburi, presenting the prosecution’s case, told the court that in 2011, Elite Kingdom Investment and Consulting Limited acquired 1,049 acres of land at Asuture Junction from the Lekpejedorm and Lekpejiti families. The transaction was formalised through an indenture signed by the heads and representatives of each of the three gates of the family, including Chartey himself.
The company took physical possession of the land by constructing a fence wall around it. According to the prosecution, the accused persons were fully aware that the family had divested its interest in the property to Elite Kingdom Investment.
However, Chartey, acting together with the fugitives Awah and Aborbi, allegedly purported to alienate a portion of the same land — measuring 75.65 acres — to GEYC Company Limited, represented by Essuman. Despite having knowledge of Elite Kingdom’s physical possession through its fence wall, Essuman allegedly entered the fenced land and continued developing it, ignoring protests from the complainant.
The court heard that on May 30, 2025, a formal police report was filed, leading to Chartey’s arrest. In his investigation caution statement, Chartey admitted the offence and pleaded for an opportunity to resolve the matter, but failed to follow through. The complainant subsequently required Essuman to vacate the land, but he allegedly refused and continued with development.
Chartey is expected to make his next court appearance on June 18, 2026.
The case highlights a recurring problem in Ghana’s land administration system, where overlapping claims and fraudulent double sales continue to generate costly litigation and undermine investor confidence in real estate. Madam Akosua Djangmah, the complainant and Human Resource Manager at Elite Kingdom Investment, brought the matter to the attention of authorities after efforts to resolve the dispute amicably proved futile.
Image Source: GHANA BUSINESS NEWS
