AVUUGI v. ABUGRI

JUDGMENT OF ESSILFIE-BONDZIE J.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the District Court, Grade II, Bawku dated 28th November 1986 in which the trial magistrate gave judgment in favour of the plaintiff-respondent (hereinafter referred to as the plaintiff) for damages for seduction against the [p.517] defendant-appellant (hereinafter referred to as the defendant). The plaintiff 's claims before the court below are as follows:

"(1) The plaintiff claims from the defendant ¢24,000 general damages for seducing his lawful wife by name Faustina Anamlebna Avuugi.

(2) ¢20,000 being cost of items used for customary purification rites."

The facts of this case are briefly as follows: The plaintiff is an accounts officer working with the District Treasury, Bawku. The defendant is a farmer living at Teshie village. The plaintiff and the defendant hail from the same village. The plaintiff has a wife by name Faustina Avuugi. On or about the fourth week of August 1986 the plaintiff's wife went to the Zebilla market from Teshie village. In the night when she was returning to Teshie she met the defendant on the way also going to Teshie. At a certain spot on the way the defendant started to fondle the plaintiff's wife. Faustina Avuugi resisted the advances of the defendant but the defendant was able to overcome her resistance and had sexual intercourse with her. Later, when she got home, Faustina Avuugi reported the incident to her husband (the plaintiff). The plaintiff also reported the matter to his elders who also complained to the defendant's elders. It was the case of the plaintiff that the defendant and his elders subsequently rendered an apology to his elders through one Akubase and Abagre. The elders of the defendant were told that as the defendant had admitted committing the offence, he should come forward to perform the necessary custom to purify the plaintiff's wife before she was taken back by the plaintiff. He said he had been married to the wife for ten years and as there are also three issues of the marriage, when the defendant refused to perform the said purification rites he decided to do it himself. For that purpose he bought two sheep for ¢7,000, malt, firewood and the like for ¢9,000 for brewing pito. He also bought one cock for ¢400. As the cloth the wife was wearing at the time of the seduction had to be discarded according to custom, he bought a new cloth and beads costing ¢3,600 for the wife. The total amount he expended was ¢20,000.

The defend