Trassaco Real Estate Company is blocking the main access route to the only Islamic educational facility in the area, making life unbearable for students and parents.
Without the government’s recent intervention, children in Kanewo, a community in the Tema West Constituency, would have been completely denied access to their school, a situation Islamic leaders have fiercely condemned.
The leaders are urgently calling on the government to restrain Trassaco from further encroaching on the school’s land and perpetrating ills against the community.
The situation became so severe that pupils and their mothers had to scale Trassaco’s unauthorised fence wall to access the educational facility.
The company has encroached upon over 82 acres of land earmarked for an Islamic educational complex, from pre-school to university level, severely disrupting the transfer of knowledge.
Beyond the clandestine land grab, the company is also accused of terrorising residents, forcing them from their beds at night for severe beatings and inhumane treatment, creating an atmosphere of constant fear.
The injustice finally compelled the government of H.E. John Dramani Mahama to move in and demolish the offending fence wall.
At a press briefing in Accra on Monday, September 8, 2025, at the school premises, the Executive Director of the Muhajiroun African American Islamic Institute, Alhaji Ali Ayornu, explained the wall barred swift access to the institute.
He stated the wall was built by Trassaco around over 40 encroached acres of land meant for the Islamic school complex.
He added that the land, acquired from the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) by Sheikh Issa Kweku in 1981, was also intended for a Zongo community, but Trassaco’s encroachment has drastically shrunk its size.
Asked why they are speaking out now, Alhaji Ayornu said past efforts to stop the sale were thwarted by the then-government and interested elements bent on the clandestine deal, depriving them of their dream.
He indicated the encroachment matter has since been litigated in court.
“We thank the Almighty Allah for giving us John Dramani Mahama, who responds to the vulnerable and ensures we get our due,” he added.
The Islamic leaders allege that ministers tasked by the Chief Imam to help instead collected money, land, and houses from Trassaco and abandoned the pursuit.
He noted the Mahama administration’s move was a direct result of their petition to the President, leading to the demolition of the obstructive wall. He also bemoaned the rapid pace of development on the disputed land.
Story By: Dennis Ato Keelson
