BETHEL FOFO ANANG v. PETER KWABENA AMPOMAH & ANO
2021
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- IRENE CHARITY LARBI (MRS.), JA (PRESIDING)
- GEORGINA MENSAH-DATSA (MRS.), JA
- YAW DARKO ASARE, JA
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence Law
2021
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Ghana Court of Appeal, per Georgina Mensah-Datsa, JA, dismissed an appeal by the Defendants/Appellants challenging a High Court, Winneba judgment in favor of the Plaintiff/Respondent over a land dispute at Gomoa Fetteh. The Respondent, a nurse, purchased ten plots in 2000 from Abusuapanyin Kodjo Amankwando, marked the boundaries F.B.A., and later found Appellants encroaching and building. Appellants claimed acquisition via Andrews Owusu Afriyie and relied on registration arguments, while investigations implicated Benjamin K. Asare, a relation of the grantor, in multiple sales. On rehearing, the Court held that registration cannot validate an invalid or dubious grant, applied the common-grantor first-in-time rule, and found Respondents grant earlier. The Court also reaffirmed that the appellant bears the burden on the weight of evidence ground and concluded the trial judge properly evaluated the record. All grounds of appeal failed, and the High Courts orders (declarations, trespass, possession, injunction, costs) were affirmed.
GEORGINA MENSAH-DATSA (MRS.), J.A.
This is an appeal by the Defendants/Appellants (hereinafter referred to as Appellants) against the judgment of the High Court, Winneba dated 9th May, 2019 in favour of the Plaintiff /Respondent (hereinafter referred to as Respondent)
The grounds of appeal are as follows:
i. The learned trial Judge erred by giving judgment in favour of the Plaintiff/ Respondent who claimed the land in dispute per an unstamped and an unregistered indenture.
ii. The learned trial Judge erred by holding that the land in dispute was granted to the Plaintiff/Respondent first in time.
iii. The judgment is against the weight of evidence.
The Plaintiff/Respondent instituted this action on 20/12/2013 against the Defendants /Appellants. The Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim was first amended on 19/8/2014 and finally amended on 10/7/2015 for the following reliefs:
a. A declaration that the Plaintiff is the bona fide owner of all that piece of land described in paragraph 6 of her Statement of Claim.
b. A declaration that the Defendants, their workers, agents and assigns are trespassing on the land in dispute.
c. An order of this Court that Plaintiff recover possession of all that piece of land described in paragraph 8 of the amended Statement of Claim.
d. An order that all fixtures on Plaintiff’s property or parcel of land be recovered by Plaintiff.
e. Special damages for all incidental or miscellaneous expenses incurred by Plaintiff in her efforts to lay claim to the land described above.
f. Perpetual injunction to restrain the Defendants, their agents, workmen and assigns and all who take after them from entering into, developing same or having anything to do with the land before this Court.
g. Injunction to restrain the Defendants and their agents as well as workmen from further developing the land in dispute until the final determination of the suit.
h. Solicitors cost.
The brief facts of this case are that Respondent is a nurse and the 1st Defendant is a spare parts dealer working at Abossey Okai, Kaneshie –Accra.
The Respondent asserts that the Appellants have entered into her land described in the Statement of Claim and are constructing buildings thereon. She contends that the 1st Defendant sold part of her land to the 2nd Defendant and is developing same into residential buildings. She said in the year 2000 she purchased ten (10) plots of land from Abusuapanyin Kodjo Amankwando of Gomoa Fetteh as Head of the Kumbe Gomoa Fe