ANAS OYEH KATAMATU & ANOR VS GA EAST MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY & ORS
January 27, 2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP PATIENCE MILLS- TETTEH (MRS.), J
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Administrative Law
- Civil Procedure
- Tort Law
January 27, 2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This High Court judgment, authored by Justice Patience Mills‑Tetteh, concerns Anas Oye Katamatu and her son, residents of Taifa/West Kwabenya in Greater Accra, whose vehicular access to their home was blocked by structures erected by neighboring individuals. Over years of encroachment beginning in 1998, the plaintiffs repeatedly engaged the Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA), the assemblyman Mr. Agyenim, and the Land Lords’ Association. Despite intermittent official interventions—including a prior Madina District Court demolition order against the 3rd defendant and a municipal task force blockade in January 2015—the defendants rebuilt fence walls, a building, a toilet/bath, drying lines, and planted trees across designated access roads. After personal service the defendants still defaulted by failing to enter appearance or file a defence. The first plaintiff testified and tendered an indenture, a petition to GEMA, and photographs. Relying on this unrebutted evidence, the court declared the offending structures irregular and unplanned, ordered their demolition, directed GEMA to supervise removal, and awarded modest general damages against the 2nd–4th defendants.
By a writ of summons filed on the 12/8/15 the plaintiffs herein instituted this action claiming the following reliefs 1. Declaration that the fence wall building, toilet, drying lines, trees constructed by 2nd and 4th defendants thus blocking access to plaintiff premises are illegal structures.
2. An order for demolishing of said house, toilet, drying lines and trees to clear the access road 3. General damages 4. An order compelling 1st defendant to ensure the removal of the offending structures.
By the statement of claim the plaintiffs, a mother and his son who reside in Taifa or West Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region and they have registered their purchased plot of land with six lay out and a site plan.
Since 1998 there has been encroachment on the access road of which plaintiffs and other residents complained to the intruders.
Plaintiffs and the other residents around that vicinity filed a complaint before the 1st defendant (Ga East Municipal Assembly) and the assembly man of the area Mr Agyenim as well as the Land Lords’ Association of the area and 1st defendant or the Ga East Municipal assembly managed to stop the intruders.
2nd and 4th defendants have however built to block access roads and prevent vehicular access into the area in particular to plaintiffs’ house.
In December 2014 the Municipal Engineer requested for all documents from residents around the area but 2nd and 3rd defendants never provided theirs.
2nd plaintiff wrote letters to 1st defendant and after several aborted attempts, a meeting was conveyed with the tax force, town and country planning Department and the surveyor of the 1st defendants.
The surveyor was commissioned to super impose the site plan of the parties on the layout and draw a composite plan.
When the surveyor came on the land 3rd defendant informed him not to take plaintiffs complaints serious because plaintiffs were just out to cause trouble, eventually the surveyor did not complete the task and he submitted a purported ground layout on 10/5/15. 1st and 2nd plaintiffs immediately contacted the Town and Country Planning Department.
The surveyor eventually submitted the drawing that suggested that 1st and 2nd plaintiffs’ site was in the road and told them he will need GHC2000 to correct same for them.
Plaintiffs challenged this assertion and refused to pay disagreeing also with the values picked by the surveyor.
2nd plaintiff subsequently wrote several letters to 1st defendant and its chief executive but t