FRIMPONG v. POKU

JUDGMENT OF AKUFO-ADDO J.S.C.

This appeal by the plaintiff is from the judgment of Bruce-Lyle J. sitting in the High Court, Sunyani, on appeal from the Brong-Ahafo Local Court, Goaso. The plaintiff's claim was for the possession of a piece of forest land which, he alleged, he purchased from the Sankori stool, and on which the defendant had trespassed. The defendant who is not a native of Sankori by birth went to live at Sankori some years ago, and was granted permission by the Sankori stool to farm on Sankori stool land. According to the evidence he was permitted to cultivate just enough land to be covered by two farming operations in two farming season ("do pen mmienu" as it is called in Twi). Some time later it was discovered that in addition to the cultivation made and covering two seasonal operations the defendant had extended his farming activities somewhat spasmodically over a wider area by planting cocoa and other crops which were dotted here and there over the wider area without any semblance of systematic cultivation, no doubt, with the object of claiming possessory rights over that area. When this state of affairs was discovered by the Odikro of Sankori, the defendant was immediately made aware of his wrongful activities and, upon apologising for his misdeeds, he was requested by the elders of the stool to pay the sum of £G300 as a consideration for his retaining the area over which he had offended if he desired to [p.3] retain it. This sum was at the request of the defendant reduced to £G200 but the defendant expressed his inability to pay and was therefore warned off the area of land concerned. Subsequently the stool of Sankori sold the said area of land to the plaintiff, but before then the defendant had become by naturalisation according to customary law a "citizen" of Sankori. The plaintiff entered upon the land upon the completion of the purchase and a few weeks later he saw the defendant working on the land, hence this action.

The plaintiff's allegation of the purchase from the Sankori stool was confirmed by the Odikro of Sankori who gave an account of the incidents which culminated in the offer made by the elders of Sankori to the defendant to pay £G300 and retain the area over which he had unlawfully spread his farming operations as already described. The Odikro stated in his evidence that as the defendant could not, or would not, pay the sum required the defendant, in the recorded words of the Odikro, "waived his interest in the are