The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested Dr Clemence Gyato in connection with the reported demolition of buildings and structures belonging to the Accra Race Course at Borteyman in Accra.
Dr Gyato was arrested on Thursday, September 10, 2026, and is currently in police custody assisting investigations, according to the police.
The CID said its investigations are aimed at establishing the full circumstances surrounding the demolition, which has triggered protests and calls for government intervention.
The arrest came on the same day the Accra Turf Club staged a peaceful demonstration in Accra to protest the reported demolition and proposed redevelopment of Ghana’s only racecourse.
The demonstrators, comprising more than 300 jockeys and supporters from turf clubs across Accra, marched from Independence Square and presented petitions to key state institutions, including the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Presidency and the Lands Commission.
Chairman of the Accra Turf Club, Lawyer Frederick Nuer, said the demonstration was intended to draw attention to what the club considers an injustice and to appeal for government intervention to protect the racecourse.
“We are not sitting down for somebody who is a private developer to come and develop the land that is for the racecourse,” he said.
Lawyer Nuer also appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to intervene and prevent what the club described as an unlawful development of the racecourse land.
The Turf Club says the racecourse has a history spanning more than 100 years and argues that its preservation goes beyond a dispute over land to protecting an important sporting tradition in Ghana.
“This club is over 100 years and that tradition cannot die,” Lawyer Nuer said.
The club is also calling on the Lands Commission to halt what it alleges are unlawful transactions involving the Borteyman land.
According to Lawyer Nuer, the club previously reached an agreement with the government to exchange its former racecourse land, located around the area of the Kempinski Hotel and the Accra International Conference Centre, for the current site at Borteyman.
The Turf Club is therefore demanding that the government honour what it says was the agreed land arrangement and protect the Borteyman racecourse from private development.
The club has also appealed to Ghanaians and others who support its position to stand with it in its efforts to protect the racecourse.
Meanwhile, the police have not indicated the specific allegations against Dr Gyato beyond his arrest in connection with the demolition. He remains in custody as the CID continues its investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
