Vanderpuye acquired the Achimota Forest Land with her husband, Nii Owoo

Naa Kwarley donated lands for the construction of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital

Naa Kwarley owned most of the lands in Adabraka

The Owoo Family has recently made headlines in Ghana as the pre-acquisition owners of the Achimota Forest land to whom the government has agreed to give peripheral portions of the land.

But are the Owoo’s the only pre-acquisition owners of the Achimota Forest land? Like many activities in Ghana, it appears the role of a female part-owner of the Achimota land has been relegated to the background.

According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodioo, Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, his great grandmother Florence Naa Kwarley Quartey Vanderpuye and her husband Nii Owoo were the owners of the land before it was taken over by the state.

Naa Kwarley Quartey Vanderpuye was very rich during the Gold Coast era. Her source of wealth was the gun powder business she run with her former gun powder merchant husband. In exchange for the gun powder, she supplied to the colonial government during the World War, Quartey Vanderpuye was given vast stretches of land.

Aside from the Achimota Forest land, she also owned lands in Accra, particularly in the Adabraka area. Because of her generosity, Naa Kwarley gave up some of her lands to be used for the good of the public.

Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye in an interview on Good Morning Ghana said that his great grandmother gave a lot of her lands out for public good.

“If you consider the Psychiatric Hospital, Adabraka Polyclinic (she gave the lands for the construction of these hospitals). She built the Ajesu House in 1924 on the Liberation Road just before the traffic light, that is where I actually grew up … and the legendary Akim Abuakwa House in Adabraka was actually a gift from her to her then driver who was enstooled as the Akim Abuakwahene at that time.

“In Adabraka all the lands after lawyer Adumoah Bossman’s place, Zagloul House No. 1, Zagloul house No. 2, the old Banford Housing building down to the Adebraka Post Office (belonged to her),” he said.