A land fraud case has taken a new turn as nine accused persons, including a former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), remain in police custody after failing to meet stringent bail conditions set by a High Court in Kumasi.

The suspects, who have been unable to satisfy the court’s financial demands, are facing a total of 12 criminal charges related to the alleged illegal sale of public land at Buobai in the Asokore Mampong Municipality.

The court presided over by Justice Kingsley Kwasi Asiedu granted each of the accused bail in the sum of GH¢800,000. The conditions require them to provide three sureties each, who must be justified with landed property.

However, sources close to the case confirm that all nine individuals have been unable to meet these requirements and will therefore remain behind bars pending a further review or the fulfillment of the bail terms.

Leading the list of suspects is Alidu Seidu, a former Municipal Chief Executive for Asokore Mampong. He is standing trial alongside eight others implicated in the alleged scheme. The accused have been slapped with multiple felony counts, including conspiracy to falsify land records, falsification of land records, fraudulent breach of trust, abetment of crime, unlawful occupation of public land, and possession of forged documents.

According to prosecutors, the case revolves around a prime parcel of land measuring 19.06 acres, originally acquired by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in 1999 for a public sanitation project.

The land was earmarked for the construction of a septage disposal and treatment facility following the closure of the landfill site at Ahenema Kokoben. However, the project was suspended after facing stiff opposition from factions within the Buobai community.

In 2014, a committee formed by the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly recommended that nine acres of the land be returned to the original occupants on humanitarian grounds.

The remaining 10.06 acres were strictly reserved for a public hospital, a designation formalized in a revised local plan deposited with the Lands Commission in December 2014.

The prosecution alleges that between June 2020 and January 2021, the accused conspired to alter the land use illegally. They are accused of changing the designation of the 10.06-acre parcel from "hospital" to "residential" without any lawful authority.

Following this alleged illegal re-demarcation, prosecutors say the land was subdivided into 34 plots. These plots were subsequently allocated to five businessmen, with some being occupied and others sold to unsuspecting buyers. The total value of the land involved is estimated to be in the millions of cedis.

Investigations further revealed that one of the accused attempted to justify the takeover by presenting a letter dated September 20, 2000, which claimed the land had been reverted to the stool. However, upon verification, officials at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly declared the document to be fraudulent and not genuine.