A security expert with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre is challenging the Kasoa District Police command to arrest a notorious land guard within the Kasoa enclave if they are serious about fighting the land guard menace.

Dr Emmanuel Kwasi Aning gave the name of the suspect as “Red” but promised to give further evidence to the police which would lead to the arrest of the suspect.

Speaking to Joy News’ Gifty Andoh Appiah on Top Story, Friday, Dr Aning said the suspect, for years has been threatening to kill, maim some residents and land owners within Amanfro in the Kasoa enclave but nothing has happened to him.

He said arresting such a character will be the first show of commitment by the police to fighting the land guard menace which has led to loss of lives and properties.

In three days, two persons have gruesomely been attacked, one of them fatally, in an around Kasoa in the Central Region. Residents believe the attacks are land guard related.

On Monday, a 52-year-old commercial bus driver was killed at Kasoa following an altercation over transport fares. Family and residents have been quick to link the murder to a tussle over land and have since been on a warpath with authorities demanding justice.

Even before the dust settles, 21-year-old Kwame Osei is currently battling for his life after he was attacked with machetes supposedly by land guards for refusing to hand over his money to them.

As a way of fighting the land guard menace, the Central Region Police spokesperson, ASP Irene Oppong told Joy News a joint military police team has been set up to patrol the area and to ensure the menace is curtailed if not stopped completely.

She said there are attempts to meet estate developers, chiefs and other stakeholders to discuss the issue of land guards and how to resolve them.

She called on the community to assist the police by providing information that will lead to the arrest of the suspects.

“Security is a shared responsibility” ASP Oppong reminded.

On Top Story, Dr Kwasi Aning accepted the challenge by the police and offered to volunteer information that will lead to the arrest of one of the notorious land guard suspects in Kasoa in the Central Region.

He said for 40 years the land guard menace has been allowed to fester because the police and other uniformed personnel have given credibility to land guards by procuring their services.

Dr Aning called for a holistic approach to solving the menace by looking into issues of land taxation, registration, and other procedures in the land administration regime.

Sam George

A Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George is doubtful the canker will be resolved anytime soon.

Contributing to the discussion, he said the land guard menace arises from the poor land administration regime in the country.

He said the dispute over land comes when more than one person lays claim to the same plot of land giving rise to the more powerful, self-styled land owners to hire the services of land guards.

According to him, a statesman was only recently killed in Miotso as a result of the land guard canker.

He said the arrest and investigation of four police men suspected to be behind the killing of the statesman is enough evidence that the land guard issue is more entrenched.

He would rather the country puts in place a better land administration regime as a way of solving the land guard problem.