BOATENG VII v. YEBOAH AND OTHERS
1960
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- ACOLATSE J
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Tort Law
- Evidence Law
1960
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The plaintiff accused the defendants of paying dues without his consent, which led to an arbitration where the defendants apologized and paid pacification fees. However, the defendants later accused the plaintiff of extortion, leading to his commitment for trial. The court found that the defendants acted without reasonable and probable cause and with malice. The court also held that the entry of a nolle prosequi by the Attorney-General terminated the proceedings in favor of the plaintiff. The plaintiff was awarded general and special damages.
JUDGMENT OF ACOLATSE J.
(His lordship stated the facts and continued).
The evidence led before me by the plaintiff was that the three defendants had appeared before arbitrators at the Ahenfie in Abene upon a complaint lodged by the plaintiff in December, 1957, the complaint being that they had offended him by paying dues to the Adontenhene of Abetifi without his (the plaintiff's) consent. The Korantenhene presided at the arbitration; the plaintiff did not sit thereon. The defendants, with others, were held liable by the arbitrators, and in consequence the defendants made an apology to the plaintiff in the presence of the elders. According to custom they paid pacification fees willingly, and provided Schnapps which all drank. On December 14, 1957, however, the defendants addressed to the Adontenhene of Abetifi a letter in which they complained of the pacification fees which they had had to pay at the arbitration. They alleged that the only accusation against them had been that they had contributed voluntary subscriptions towards the maintenance of the Abetifi School. "Unless Nana" (i.e. the Adontenhene) "has another means of redress for us we will beg that Nana reimburse us of the monies, as it is for your sake that such fines were inflicted on us."
I am satisfied from the evidence on record—and the point is not in dispute—that the defendants preferred (by means of a private prosecution, assisted by their counsel) a criminal charge against the plaintiff before a judicial officer, upon which complaint the plaintiff, after a preliminary investigation, was committed for trial at the assizes to be held at Accra. The question is, did the defendants act with reasonable and probable cause? They had not made any complaint to the plaintiff (or to the elders who sat on the arbitration) after the payment of the pacification fees, nor did they make any complaint to the local native authorities. In their letter of December 14, 1957, to the Adontenhene they said that the reason why they had had to pay pacification fees was that they had made " voluntary subscriptions towards the maintenance of the Abetifi School." The letter does not allege that the plaintiff extorted the fees from each defendant by means of threats, to wit, that if each failed to pay him the said fees he would eject each from his Hwehwee land. Nor was any particularisation of threats used by the plaintiff provided by the affidavit sworn by first defendant, (for himself and on behalf of the other defe