Tension is mounting between the youth of Weta in the Ketu North Municipality and Anlo Afiadenyigba in the Keta District of the Volta Region over land boundary.
This follows the erection of a burst of the Awomefia, Togbui Sri III at the Anlo Afiadenyigba/Weta junction, off the Accra-Aflao highway, which was subsequently destroyed by unknown people.
While the youth of Weta embarked on a protest march in the disputed area and held a press conference, some Anlo natives were inciting violence on social media.
Speaking to the press, the Spokesperson for the Weta Traditional Council Youth Authority, Mensah Agbanyo recounted that Weta lands were issued to Anlo-Afidenyigba indigenes to settle after suffering a fire disaster in 1902.
He explained that originally, they did not share boundary with Anlo-Afiadenyigba but the Kilokor Traditional Area, until the land allocation was done on humanitarian grounds.
He said the area allocated was bounded by the Anlo-Afiadenyigba Senior High School and the Anlo-Afiadenyigba Clinic and does not extend beyond.
“We refuse to be drawn into the infantile arguments of using the Accra-Aflao highway which was constructed in 1958 as a demarcation between traditional areas that had existed hundreds of years before the road was constructed.
“Are our brothers and sisters of Anlo-Afiadenyigba claiming Dzakpasukope. Kpornukope, Ayidiga, Diamond Salt Company, Adzadokpo and others like Atiteti and Awalavi which are divided by the road as Anlo Afiadenyigba communities?
“In furtherance to the above, using the Aflao-Accra highway to demarcate the boundaries between Weta and Anlo-Afiadenyigba amounted to deliberate provocation and a display of absolute ignorance and a clear trespass to which the people of Weta would not and ever tolerate”, said Mr. Agbanyo
He indicated that Weta traditional authorities have initiated steps to reinstate their ownership, by requesting the Electoral Commission to relocate the polling station sited at the Anlo-Afiadenyigba Senior High School, among others.
“We also want to state that, businesses owned by Anlo Afiadenyigba citizens at Weta Junction must be closed down if the owners refuse to pay taxes and other revenues to Ketu North Municipal Assembly (KNMA).
“Henceforth, the people of Anlo Afiadenyigba should desist, immediately, from calling the area in question as ‘Anlo Afiadenyigba Junction’. The real name is ‘Weta Junction’.
“Again, the Electoral Commission must relocate the Polling Station that has been sited at Anlo Afiadenyigba Senior High School with immediate effect.
“The people of Weta have initiated the processes to engage the elders of Anlo-Afiadenyigba and the Ghana Education Service to as a matter of principle change the name of Anlo-Afiadenyigba Senior High School to reflect the true owners of the land”, he concluded.
Considering the tension mounting in the area, some residents have called on the security agencies and stakeholders to step in and ensure the issue is resolved without bloodshed.
They believe an early attempt to resolve the issues would curtail any form of violence.
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