2022
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This Supreme Court of Ghana case concerns intra-family property and succession disputes among siblings David Okae, Eva Ansah, and Comfort Ansah. Their mother, Agnes Temah/Tema, acquired and developed two Kumasi houses in David’s and Eva’s names and managed them while the plaintiffs lived abroad. After Agnes’s death, their sister Theresa Derkyi and later Comfort succeeded her estate. Comfort began treating the houses and cocoa farms as family property and raised estoppel, while David asserted he succeeded their granduncle, Opanin/Nana Emmanuel Afari Mintah, to cocoa farms supported by receipts. The Court focused on the presumption of advancement, holding that properties purchased in a child’s name are presumed gifts unless rebutted by strong contemporaneous evidence. Finding none, and relying on documentary evidence, qualified family testimony, and settled appellate standards, the Court struck out vague grounds, rejected the weight-of-evidence complaint, affirmed concurrent findings, and dismissed the appeal, affirming the Court of Appeal.
OWUSU (MS.) JSC:-
On 29th April, 2021, the Court of Appeal, Kumasi dismissed the Defendant/Appellant’s appeal and affirmed the Judgment of the High Court dated 19th February 2020.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Defendant/Appellant filed an appeal to the Supreme Court on the following grounds:
a.That the Judgment is against the weight of evidence.
b.That the Court below erred in holding that Plot. No. 12 Block XXIII, New Amakom Extension was held in trust for the 1stPlaintiff/Respondent/Respondent.
c.That the Court below erred in holding that Plot No, 10 Block ‘B’ Asokwa was held in trust for the 2nd Plaintiff/Respondent/Respondent.
d.That the Court Below erred in holding that 1st Plaintiff/Respondent/Respondent is the successor in title of the estate of Opanin Afari Mintah.
e.That the Court below erred in not granting the Defendant/Appellant/Appellant her Counterclaim.
f.Additional issues will be canvassed upon receipt of the record of proceedings.
In this appeal, the parties would be referred to by their designations at the trial Court. Consequently, the Plaintiffs/Respondents/Respondents would be referred to as 1st and 2nd Plaintiffs respectively and the Defendant/Appellant/Appellant would be referred to as Defendant
Before dealing with the arguments advanced in support and against this appeal, we will give a brief background of the case,
The parties in this case are uterine siblings. Their mother the late Agnes Temah had six children including the parties in this case. In her lifetime, Agnes Temah acquired House No. 12 Block XXIII, New Amakom Extension, Kumasi and House No. Plot 10 Block ‘B’ Asokwa in the names of the 1st and 2nd Plaintiffs respectively and managed these during her lifetime. Upon her death in 1992, her estate was managed by her daughter Theresa Derkyi who had succeeded her customarily. Theresa Derkyi died in 2007 and was succeeded by Comfort Ansah who also took over the estate of Agnes. The Plaintiffs all this while were domiciled outside the country. The Plaintiffs alleged that some years into the successorship of her sister, Theresa Ansah, the Defendant in this case started treating the disputed houses as her personal properties. The 1st Plaintiff lodged a complaint before their head of family. The family resolved the matter in his favour but the Defendant has refused to hand over the properties to him hence this action claiming the following reliefs:
1.A Declaration of title to all that buildin