DIANA SARFOWAA v. YAW POKU & ANOR

The High Court, presided over by a Justice of Appeal sitting alone, resolved a land and house ownership dispute between a woman living abroad and her former husband. The plaintiff claimed she had bought a plot at Parkoso, Kumasi, in 2002, built a five-bedroom house through her aunt before marrying the 1st defendant in 2006, and sought declaratory and injunctive reliefs. The 1st defendant counter-claimed joint ownership, relying on a 2004 allocation note in their joint names and alleging equal financial contribution. After reviewing witness testimony, competing allocation papers, statutory burdens of proof, and relevant precedents, the court preferred the plaintiff’s evidence, gave full weight to the part-heard testimony of the traditional official who sold the land, held that the earlier 2002 allocation prevailed and that the defendant had not proved any contribution. The property was declared the plaintiff’s self-acquired asset, the defendants were restrained from interference, and the counter-claim was dismissed without costs.