After the initial cutting and clearing of the grass, shrubbery, and small trees that were attempting to envelop and overwhelm the developing structure, being the perfectionist that I am, I thanked the owner for his efforts to date. However, I complained that the job done wasn’t thorough enough. Since there was still significant overgrowth inside and immediately surrounding the emerging building. He agreed and assured me that the workers to whom the job was contracted would return to do a more thorough and comprehensive job. On our third visit to the site after all the clearing had been done to my satisfaction, we were accompanied by two friends of mine. One of them was a civil engineer, and the other was a builder. My plan was to have them function as witnesses in the upcoming property purchase transaction. The mason, whom I had known since 2014, suggested that everything should be done under the supervision of the Berekum Municipal Assembly. I couldn’t help but notice that the owner, Mr. Blessing, cringed at the thought, but went along with the recommendation anyway. I took out my tape measure and measured the hall and the master bedroom. Those two rooms weren’t spacious enough for my purposes, and then, I determined that I would have to find a way to make them larger. As I looked around and examined the structure in its entirety, I concluded that the back porch, dining room, and kitchen would all need major adjustments in their dimensions.
Although the location was remote, there were other buildings nearby. Living like an introvert was not a problem for me because I treasure solitude. The absence of noise and clamour was something that I sincerely appreciate since the natural world has its own symphony of unobtrusive sounds. Whether it’s the croaking of frogs, the singing of birds, or the warbling of doves. Such natural environmental musical phenomena were far more welcome to my ears than the man-made auditory carnage with which I was occasionally bombarded. Walking from the spot where the building was located to the nearest country road would provide me with good and well-needed daily exercise.
After I had appraised the property in its entirety to my satisfaction and carefully noted the four clearly demarcated boundary pegs, I agreed to give the owner (s) a deposit of five thousand Ghana Cedis. We decided in advance that we would meet at the Berekum Municipal Assembly, where the payment would be made and the receipt signed in the presence of witnesses. We all agreed to meet at the Berekum Municipal Assembly at 10 A.M. on the day that the money was to be paid and the documents signed. The only person who arrived on time was me. Everyone else turned up late. Arriving at appointments long after the agreed-upon time is a typical Ghanaian practice. While waiting in the small, poorly ventilated room, I fell asleep. I dreamed I saw a plane flying, and the sky was illuminated with stars shining like brilliant diamonds. The meaning of the dream was that treachery was ahead of me, but that I need not worry because I would have good earnings. I wondered about the significance of the dream. Then I realized that this was my second premonition. The first one was the Siamese cat. Before the signing ceremony, a representative from the Assembly accompanied us to the site in question, not only to verify its location but also the Lot number. I discovered in due course that the property was titled in the name of Mr. Blessing’s wife. Therefore, I handed the cash to her and had her sign the prepared receipt. The witnesses also affixed their signatures to the same document.
Two weeks later, we all appeared at the Assembly. My intention was to complete the transaction by paying the owners the outstanding twenty thousand Cedis. To my shock and dismay, the document unfurled by the owners required me to pay 200,000.00 GHS (two hundred thousand Cedis) as the outstanding balance owed on the property. I knew from painful experience that many Ghanaians, especially those living out in the countryside, are numerically illiterate. Therefore, I concluded at first that this was all the result of a misunderstanding. I requested a full refund of the five thousand Cedis deposit I had paid initially. Still, Mr. Blessing claimed that such a refund would be impossible. Since he had to pay the Municipal Assembly a standard fee for recording the document transfer, he also had to bribe the local chiefs. My faith in human nature being what it is, and my magnanimity, led me to believe initially that Mr. Blessing was being honest and straightforward with me. However, after a few days of careful reflection and recalling the two premonitions that had forewarned me, I finally came to realize that I had been tricked into giving five thousand cedis to two scammers. It gradually dawned upon me that these two people (wife and husband) had absolutely no intention of ever selling that piece of real estate. However, they pretended that they were selling that property to rob me of five thousand cedis.
I had experienced fraud before, but this new development was so blatant that I couldn’t overlook it. Furthermore, it was so stupid that the perpetrators were insane if they thought that I would permit them to get away with it. I decided to give them enough time to refund all of my money, but I resolved that if they failed to do so, I would deal with them severely. Obviously, they desperately needed to be taught some honesty and integrity.
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