FRANCIS OSEI ADUTWUM VS NANA YAW APPIAH

This is a case which facts are not in controversy and to begin with should not have engaged the court’s precious time, had it not been the adversarial processes we found in our jurisprudence.

The Plaintiff on the 30th day of April 2019 caused a Writ of Summons to be issued against the Defendant asking for the following reliefs.

a) Recovery of Possession of Plot No. A 205/24/A Apenkwa, Accra;

b) Mesne profit;

The pleadings as filed between the parties, the Defendant is not laying claim to the land in dispute as the owner but occupying the land as of right to carry out his lawful business.

PLAINTIFF’S CASE

The case of the Plaintiff briefly is that he rented out part of his land in house No. A205/24/A Apenkwa Accra to the Defendant for which a Tenancy Agreement for a period of three (3) years or as they put it 36 months was drawn up commencing from 1st January 2014 ending 1st January 2017.

This agreement was signed by both parties and the land was rented out to the Defendant purposely as a garage in the trading of vehicles.

It is the case of the Plaintiff that the monthly rent agreed to be paid by the Defendant was GH¢300.00 as indicated on the agreement signed dated 1st day of January 2014.

That the agreement has expired and the Defendant has refused to yield vacant possession to him despite the intervention of the Rent Control Office and the Defendant also has refused to pay rent for the space he is occupying even after the expiration of the agreement.

The Court should therefore order the Defendant to vacate the premises to enable him recover possession of the portion of his land rented out to the Defendant.

DEFENDANT’S CASE

The Defendant unreservedly admitted that a tenancy agreement existed between them but there were outstanding issues yet to be resolved in terms of monies spent in clearing the land and other monies advanced to the Plaintiff.

It is the Defendant’s case that after working on the land and spending about GH¢30,000.00 in clearing the land which was a refuse dump, negotiations were yet to begin based on Plaintiff’s assurances before witnesses.

The Defendant further states that after working on the land, Plaintiff collected GH¢10,000.00 from him to perform the funeral of his mother and it is this GH¢10.000.00 paid that the said agreement was signed from 2014 to 2017 at a monthly rent of GH¢300.00.

That he further spent GH¢3,800.00 to secure the release of the Plaintiff who was involved in a criminal case with the Mile 7 Police a