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May 2, 2023
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
This is an application filed by the Defendant/Applicant (hereafter referred to as the
“Applicant”) to strike out the Writ of Summons of the Plaintiff/Respondent (hereafter
referred to as the “Respondent”) for want of capacity. The material facts undergirding
the application are as follows:
The Respondent instituted the instant action against the Applicant on 28th January
2020. Subsequently, the writ of summons was amended on 17th March 2021 with the
Respondent seeking a declaration of title to a piece or parcel of land situate, lying and
being at New Weija, Accra containing an approximate area of 0.16 acre (or 0.07 ha);
Recovery of possession; Damages for trespass; Perpetual injunction; An order for the
demolition of the Defendant’s structures on the Plaintiff’s land and Costs.
According to the Respondent, he acquired the said land from one James Kumah of Nii
Boi Town, Accra on 11th September 2013. His grantor had earlier acquired the said
land from Nii Boafo Danyina-Nse I, the Weija Dzasetse and Acting Weija Mantse on
25th April 2009.
Upon acquisition of the land (with the necessary documentation), the Respondent
constructed a building on a portion of the land and put one Gifty Agyiri in occupation.
Respondent then entrusted the building to his father Alhaji Fuba Abubakar of Tantra
Hills Accra, to act as a caretaker and to ward off all trespassers.
The Respondent further avers that sometime in the year 2014, the Applicant started
laying claim to the land thereby compelling Respondent’s father to report the matter
to the Accra Regional Police Command which invited the Applicant to assist with
investigations.
It is instructive to state that the Applicant filed a defence and counterclaimed for:
Declaration of title to the land in dispute; Recovery of possession; Perpetual
injunction; Damages against the Respondent for trespass; Costs including legal fees
and any other Order(s) that the Honourable Court may deem fit to make.
Subsequently, on 16th May 2021, the Respondent filed a reply. Pleadings have closed;
Directions have been taken and the parties have filed their Witness Statements and
Pretrial Checklists.
On 30th November 2021, both parties, their agents, servants, privies and assigns were
restrained from dealing or interfering with the land in dispute in any way until the
final determination of the suit.
The Applicant subsequently filed the instant application to strike out the
Respondent’s writ of summons and statement
AI Generated Summary
This High Court ruling arises from a land dispute at New Weija, Accra, where the Defendant/Applicant sought to strike out the Plaintiff/Respondent’s suit for want of capacity. The Respondent claimed acquisition through a chain from the Weija Dzasetse and acting Weija Mantse, via James Kumah, and relied on possession, having built a structure occupied by Gifty Agyiri and placed his father, Alhaji Fuba Abubakar, as caretaker. The Applicant counterclaimed for title and argued the land was state property. The court relied on Exhibit MA2—Lands Commission records from PVLMD, LRD, and SMD—confirming the parcel is public land acquired under a 7 October 1959 Certificate of Title for Government farms. Applying section 236 of the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) and the nemo dat principle, the court held that neither party had any conveyable interest or capacity; only the Government or its authorized agents may alienate or litigate over the land. Consequently, both the Respondent’s writ and the Applicant’s counterclaim were dismissed.