ESTHER KORKOI QUAYE v. LA DADEKOTOPON MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY

1] BACKGROUND TO THE CASE

This is an originating motion on notice for the enforcement of the Applicant’s fundamental human rights to own and enjoy property, an order to restrain Respondent from further demolishing Applicant’s property and an order for damages against the Respondent.

2] The Applicant brought this action for herself and on behalf of her siblings who are all children, successors in title and beneficiaries of their late mother, Comfort A. Adjei. She avers as follows;

3] That their maternal grandmother, Madam Elizabeth Achiawa Annang (deceased), of La was the owner of the land/property located at La-Accra with House No. 49 /CI21, Ankamafio Street. That the Applicant and her siblings inherited said property from their mother upon her demise.

4] That their mother, Comfort A. Adjei in the 1970s applied for and obtained a building permit from the then Accra City Council which was subsumed by the Respondent. That her mother constructed a building in which she lived without any interference for over 40 years.

5] That sometime in 2004, officers of the Respondent, without warning or notice started demolishing a section of the Applicant’s property. The Applicant registered a formal complaint and showed the Respondent’s officers documents on the property. That the Respondent discontinued the demolition and Applicant reconstructed the affected wall.

6] That sometime in 2022, the Respondent again sent its officers to carry out a demolition of a section of Applicant’s structure on the ground that the Assembly was about to construct a road through the Applicant’s property.

7] Applicant contends that the demolition carried out by Respondent was unlawful having been effected without justification and without notice to Applicants.

8] RESPONDENT’S ANSWER

Respondent, on its part, alleges that Applicant’s property is located on a parcel of land, which by virtue of the Spatial Land Use Scheme, has been earmarked for development of a public road. Respondent maintains that the demolition was lawful and carried out in accordance with the Local Governance Act, 2016 Act 936 but does not specify the exact provision under which the impugned action was taken.

9] RELIEFS

Applicant seeks the following reliefs;

1.An order for the enforcement of their constitutional right to own and enjoy property;

2.An order to prohibit and restrain the Respondent from taking any further actions against the Applicant’s property or;