On 22 January 2026, the Ghana News Agency published a report on the remand of a building contractor.
The report concerned Mr. Carlos Allston, a registered landowner and real estate developer, whose remand has since raised serious questions about the use of Ghana’s criminal justice system to resolve what legal observers describe as a purely civil and business dispute.
Mr. Allston is the registered freehold owner of land in East Legon, covered by a Land Title Certificate, on which a seven-unit apartment building has been constructed.
His engagement with the complainant, Mr. Wise Horgli, a businessman and Chief Executive Officer of Westport Petroleum, arose through an associate of Mr. Horgli and was strictly limited to the sale of three two-bedroom apartment units between 2021 and 2024.
The remaining four apartments were sold to other purchasers, including the said associate of Mr. Horgli, who acquired two units comprising a penthouse and a two-bedroom apartment.
All purchasers, including Mr. Horgli and his associate, have taken possession of and remain in occupation of the apartments they lawfully acquired, without any interference whatsoever from Mr. Allston.
The dispute underlying the current criminal proceedings does not concern the apartments sold.
It relates instead to a separate, smaller building, constructed by Mr. Allston for his personal use and future development, situated on adjacent land that was never part of any sale transaction.
Crucially, before the commencement of any criminal process, Mr. Horgli and his associate, through a mediator, sought to purchase this adjoining property, thereby acknowledging that they did not own it.
That proposed transaction did not proceed because they were unable to meet the offer price.
Following the breakdown of those negotiations, Mr. Allston became the subject of repeated police petitions and criminal complaints, rather than civil proceedings.
Mr. Horgli made a complaint of trespass to the East Legon Police. Mr. Horgli reported to the Police that Mr. Allston had threatened him at the property on 30 December 2025.
This allegation was made despite the fact that the two men had not met since 12 March 2025, when Mr. Horgli assaulted Mr. Allston at the East Legon Police Station by biting his finger and injuring his head.
On 14 January 2026, the matter was escalated to the Special Investigations Unit of the Ghana Police Service, leading to Mr. Allston’s arrest and his being charged with trespass.
Court records indicate that in his charge statement, Mr. Allston denied entering any of the apartments sold to the complainant or other purchasers, produced his Land Title Certificate covering the disputed property, and denied communicating any intention to damage or demolish the apartment building.
On 21 January 2026, Mr. Allston was arraigned before Circuit Court 1, Adenta, charged with trespassing and threat of harm, founded on the same allegations made by Mr. Horgli.
Despite voluntarily cooperating with investigators and producing title documents to show that he is the bona fide owner of the property in dispute, Mr. Allston was remanded into custody for six days.
The complainant was represented in court by Mr. Desmond Afeku.
In the meantime, the associates of Mr. Wise Horgli have surreptitiously entered the building in dispute, fitted it out, and are occupying it as an office, without any legal right, title, or interest, in circumstances alleged to have been facilitated by Mr. Horgli’s intimidation.
On 27 January 2026, the same court admitted Mr. Allston to bail in the sum of GHC100,000.
The criminal trial is scheduled to commence on 1 April 2026.
Legal observers warn that the implications of the remand are profound.
By restraining a landowner from accessing his own property through criminal remand, only for the property to be occupied in the interim, the state has, in effect, enabled the dispossession of a lawful owner without payment, judgment, or trial.
Critics argue that this represents not merely a personal injustice, but a serious threat to property rights, due process, and constitutional protections, reinforcing fears that criminal processes are being weaponised to coerce surrender in business and land disputes.
Mr. Allston has indicated his intention to defend himself in the criminal trial and take legal action against those who made the false complaints.
The questions Ghanaians are asking
- Can a person trespass on property covered by his own Land Title Certificate?
- Since when did civil and business disputes justify criminal remand?
- Why was a cooperating citizen with clear title documents denied bail on misdemeanour charges?
- How does a court remand an accused without resolving contested ownership or examining documents?
- Why were criminal processes preferred over civil remedies in a commercial dispute?
- Who benefits when a landowner is restrained and third parties occupy the disputed property without judgment?
- Is the criminal justice system being used to force outcomes the civil courts would not allow?
- If this can happen in East Legon, critics ask, what protection does the ordinary Ghanaian property owner really have?
Source: Stafford Law Legal Practitioners
