Former MCE, 8 others in custody for not satisfying bail conditions in state land sale case

Nine people, including former Asokore Mampong MCE Alidu Seidu, have been kept in police custody after they were unable to meet strict bail conditions set by a High Court in Kumasi.

Each accused was granted bail of GH¢800,000, backed by three sureties with landed property, but prosecutors say none of the defendants has satisfied the requirements.

The group is facing 12 charges, including alleged falsification of land records, fraudulent breach of trust, unlawful occupation of public land and possession of forged documents.

Prosecutors say the dispute centres on a portion of land acquired by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in 1999 for public projects. The site was first earmarked for a septage treatment facility after a landfill closure, but community resistance later stalled that plan, leaving the area exposed to encroachment claims.

They told the court that a later internal process in 2014 proposed allocating part of the land to persons affected by demolitions, while the balance was reserved for a hospital under a revised planning arrangement lodged with the Lands Commission.

The state alleges that, between June 2020 and January 2021, land meant for the hospital was reclassified for residential development without proper approval, after which 34 plots were created and distributed to five businessmen, with some plots occupied and others resold.

Investigators also say an alleged letter suggesting the land had been returned to the stool was found to be unauthentic after checks at the Assembly.

The complaint was filed by the current MCE, Ben Abdallah Alhassan. The case returns to court on 12 March 2026.