CHARLES MATEY v. CHALOTTE TEIKO SEMAHA _ ORS.
2004
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- ARYEETEY, J.A. (PRESIDING)
- ASARE-KORANG, J.A.
- PIESARE, J.A
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Evidence Law
- Civil Procedure
2004
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
On appeal from the Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court, the Court of Appeal (Aryeetey, J.A., with Asare-Korang, J.A., and Piesare, J.A., concurring) affirmed a judgment upholding a purchasers title to House No. B 20, Asesewa. The appellant, a fostered child of Comfort Mateko (sister of the late Yodjo), alleged that Comfort and her mother jointly acquired the land and later allotted rooms as family property, and that Comforts daughter and grandson fraudulently sold the house while Comfort lay ill. The defendants maintained Comfort alone purchased the land and herself sold the house to the third defendant for a2500,000. A contemporaneous receipt (exhibit 3) showed payment by Comfort to Tei Bigoe in 1953. Applying Kotokoli v. Sarbali, the Court held the sale document (exhibit 4), though thumb-printed without a jurat, was valid because it was read to and understood by Comfort, who delivered all ownership documents; the purchaser took possession and renovated. The Court rejected claims of bias and found the property was Comforts self-acquired asset; the appeal was dismissed.
ARYEETEY, J.A.
A brief background to this appeal is as follows: The late Comfort Mateko was the sister of the late Yodjo who died in 1953 leaving behind his four children namely the plaintiff/appellant and his three sisters. Comfort Mateko, whose only child was the first defendant, took care of her deceased sister’s children and played the role of their foster mother. It is the case of the plaintiff that before the death of Yodjo, his mother, the late Comfort Mateko and her late mother had jointly purchased a piece of land on which they built three rooms. The late Mateko customarily adopted the plaintiff and his siblings as her own children. Her adopted children helped her in her trading and she was able to increase the rooms in the house to seven with the plaintiff helping physically with the construction work. Thereafter the late Mateko lived in the house with the plaintiff and his sisters until 1987 when she suffered a stroke, which stopped her from engaging in any gainful employment. It is the case of the plaintiff that when the late Comfort Mateko lay on sick bed the first defendant connived with her son, the late Winfred Ofoe Semaha, who was the original second defendant and sold the house in dispute to the third defendant without the knowledge and consent of the head and all members of their family.
The family got to know of the fraudulent transaction in November, 1992 and that prompted the head of the family and two principal members of the family to approach the late Mateko on her sick bed and questioned her about the sale of the house. She expressed surprise and denied any knowledge about sale of the house. When the first defendant was asked to give explanation for her conduct she could not do so. When Comfort Mateko died the family had the information that the house in dispute had indeed been sold to the third defendant. Meanwhile the plaintiff was appointed successor to the late Comfort Mateko at a general meeting of the family and authorised to write to the third defendant about his unlawful occupation of the house in dispute. The third defendant refused to accept the letter on the basis that he had nothing to do with the plaintiff's head of family. The plaintiff on his own behalf and on behalf of his family first took action against the third defendant for Declaration of Title and Recovery of possession of House No. B.20, Asesewa as depicted in the proceedings of the Somanya District Magistrate Grade 1 Court recorded at page 119 of the reco