Labadi Beachfront Demolition: The Real Reason Why Structures Were Demolished
- National Security led a demolition exercise at the Labadi Beach Hotel beachfront on Friday, October 2, 2026, with the Polo Beach Club among the structures affected
- The Polo Beach Club, linked to Kwame Blay, son of former NPP National Chairman Freddie Blay, had previously been at the centre of state capture allegations by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
- A High Court in Accra granted an injunction in December 2024 barring Spartan Ives Limited from operating the Polo Beach Club on the contested beachfront
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The demolition exercise led by National Security at the Labadi Beach Hotel beachfront on Friday, October 2, 2026, has reignited a long-running controversy over one particular structure: the Polo Beach Club.
The club, reportedly owned by Spartan Ives Limited, a company connected to Kwame Blay, son of former New Patriotic Party National Chairman Freddie Blay, has found itself at the centre of public debate more than once before.
Source: UGC
Labadi beachfront demolition: Ablakwa's state capture allegations
Between 2022 and 2024, the then-Member of Parliament for North Tongu and now Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, made a series of exposés targeting what he described as a coordinated effort to capture the Labadi Beach Hotel's beachfront.
He alleged that Kwame Blay had come to claim ownership of the beachfront, a move that would make the Labadi Beach Hotel "the only beachfront hotel in the world which does not have exclusive control over its entire beachfront."
Ablakwa revealed that the claims surfaced through court documents filed on February 17, 2023, at an Accra High Court by Loic Devos Junior, a former business partner of Kwame Blay, who alleged he had been cheated out of their joint business dealings.
According to Ablakwa, Freddie Blay subsequently locked Devos out of the company's accounts, consolidating full control of the business.
He also alleged the complicity of a former managing director of the Labadi Beach Hotel in the matter, which he claimed contributed to the dismissal of the hotel's then-boss, Rene Vincent-Ernst.
The Blay family denied the allegations in full. Kwame Blay maintained that the accusations were baseless and had caused serious damage to his business and personal reputation.
Freddie Blay, for his part, argued that the timing of Ablakwa's statements, close to a general election, suggested the claims were politically motivated. Both men pursued legal action against the MP.
The Instagram video is below:
Labadi beachfront: Court Injunction and SSNIT's defence
In December 2024, the Accra High Court granted an interim injunction barring Spartan Ives Limited and its associates from accessing the contested land and operating the Polo Beach Club.
The order, dated December 19, 2024, restrained the company from trespassing on approximately 0.54 acres of land used as a car park and event venue and from using the beachfront in breach of the Labadi Beach Hotel's lease agreement dating back to November 27, 1990.
Regarding the October 2026 demolition exercise, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust defended the intervention, saying it had requested National Security's assistance to remove what it described as unauthorised occupants and structures adjacent to both the Labadi Beach Hotel and La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, both part of its investment portfolio.
SSNIT cited fire hazards, sanitation risks, environmental degradation, and threats to hotel operations and guest privacy as justification. The Trust was pointed in its reasoning: "These assets belong to the workers and pensioners of Ghana."
The YouTube video is below:
Stand Dogbe speaks after Labadi beach demolition
Earlier, YEN.com.gh wrote about Stan Dogbe’s explanation that the La beachfront demolition was carried out at the Labadi Beach Hotel’s request, not as part of the government’s flood mitigation programme.
The clearance included the Polo Beach Club, while a land ownership dispute and questions from the local MP have kept the operation in the spotlight.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
