GH - AHENKORA v. OFE

GRANVILLE SHARP J.A. This is an appeal from a judgment of Windsor-Aubrey J., delivered on February 7, 1957, by which he granted to the applicant an order of certiorari requiring the Governor to surrender to the court proceedings of a committee of inquiry and the Governor's confirmation thereof, and ordered that the said proceedings and confirmation thereof be quashed and that a formal order be drawn up.

The facts are as follows. On September 1, 1952, Ntiamoa Kofi III, the then occupant of the Stool of Adowsena, was destooled by the Akim Kotoku State Council as a result of an inquiry into certain charges laid against him by the respondent, amongst others. This destoolment was duly notified and was further recognised and endorsed by the \Vest African Court of Appeal on August 29, 1955, in proceedings as to the exact nature of which it is not necessary to inquire further than to state that they were concerned with the destooled Chief's refusal to hand over the property of the stool. On August 20, 1955, Gazette No. 73 contained Notification (No. 2535) of the enstoolment of the respondent on the Stool of Adowsena. On November 5, 1955, the appellant, Kwabena Ofe, Krontihene, and the elders and electors of the Stool of Adowsena in the Akim Kotoku State laid charges against the respondent, the most important of which, for the purposes of this appeal, is charge number 5. This was, so far as it is necessary to state it, as follows:

" That he by unlawful means aided and abetted Kwame Ayim and an ex-Obemsa Abena Foriwaa, members of the Stool family, but not electors of the Stool, to bring charges against the recognised Ohene Ntiamoa Kofi III alias Kofi Ntoa for his destoolment and thereby caused his destoolment unlawfully by the State Council. ' ,

It was obviously undesirable in the circumstances that the State Council should enter into an inquiry into the constitutional matter raised by this charge, although there were four other charges into which the State Council could have inquired without objection being raised. The Governor therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by the State Councils (Southern Ghana) Ordinance, s. 8, appointed a committee of inquiry

" to inquire into a dispute in Adowsena of the Akim Kotoku State, being a matter of a constitutional nature, between Kwabena Ofe, Krontihene of Adowsena, etc., and Nana Owusu Ahenkora II, Ohene of Adowsena of Akim Kotoku State, and to report on the dispu te. "

The committee of inquiry in

AHENKORA v. OFE

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