GH - AFIA OFOSUAA vs AFRICAN TOWERS LIMITED

On 25th January, 2019, the Plaintiff instituted this action against the Defendant for the following reliefs as endorsed on the writ of summons and statement of claim:

i. Payment of the sum of Eight Thousand and Eight Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 8, 800. 00) being rent owed by the Defendant from August 2017 to July 2018.

ii. Interest on (i) above at the commercial bank lending rate from 15th August 2018.

iii. Mesne profits from August 2018 until the date that the Defendant vacates the land.

iv. Recovery of possession of the land in dispute.

v. Removal of the communications mast constructed on the land in dispute by the Defendant.

Damages for breach of contract.

Costs of the action including lawyer’s fees.

Any other order(s) that this Court may deem meet.

The gravamen of the Plaintiff’s claim is contained in paragraphs 3 to 9 of the statement of claim, a summation of which is as follows: According to the Plaintiff, sometime in the year 2017, the Defendant acting per its director, Gilbert Boye, approached her with the view of leasing her parcel of land situated at Asuoso in the Eastern Region of the Republic of Ghana.

The Plaintiff says after negotiations with the Defendant, she agreed to lease the parcel of land to the Defendant for a period of ten (10) years, yielding rent of Eight Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢800. 00) a month.

The Plaintiff further states that the property was to be used for the construction and operation of a telecommunication mast. The Plaintiff states that the parties executed a Lease Agreement, after their negotiations.

The Plaintiff continues that the Defendant agreed to pay her a rent advance of two (2)years totaling Nineteen Thousand Two Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢19, 200. 00) on 15th September, 2017. It is the case of the Plaintiff that the Defendant has erected the telecommunication mast on her land as agreed but has refused to pay the rent advance or any rent at all since it was granted vacant possession of the land in August 2017. The Plaintiff avers that she has repeatedly made demands on the Defendant to honour its obligations towards her, including engaging Counsel to write to the Defendant, but all attempts have proven futile as the Defendant has refused to pay the rent agreed for the leased property.

It is the Plaintiff’s case that the Defendant intends to continue being on her land which she leased to it without paying the rent agreed and owing.

For all this, the Plaintiff says she is entitled to the reliefs for which sh