GEORGE OSEI KWAME & ORS v. OSEI AHENKRO
2016
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- AYEBI, J.A. (PRESIDING)
- TORKORNOO, J. A.
- DOMAKYAAREH, J. A
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Probate and Succession
2016
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case arose from the plaintiffs' challenge to a Will executed by an illiterate, on grounds that proper procedures for its execution were not followed. The trial judge dismissed the suit without taking evidence, ruling that the Will was valid, prompting the plaintiffs' appeal. The appellate court upheld the trial courts decision, dismissing all grounds of appeal and holding that the procedures followed by the trial judge were appropriate under the High Court Civil Procedure Rules. The court confirmed that the Will met the statutory requirements, thus it was valid. Costs were awarded to the defendants, given the plaintiffs' obstructive conduct and delay in proceedings.
JUDGMENT
TORKORNOO, J. A:
There are two strands of complaints in this appeal. That the learned trial judge failed to hear the parties before entering a ruling that dismissed the suit, and that he wrongly evaluated the relevant document which was a Will and found it valid, when it lacked certain essential features of a Will executed by an illiterate.
The plaintiff appellants, who describe themselves as beneficiaries under the Will of Opanin Kwabena Nyanteng sued the executors named in his Will read after his demise. This was on 5th October 2009. The case of the plaintiffs was succinctly spelt out in their Statement of claim. They said that although the Will contained a jurat and a certificate of the counsel who prepared it, the jurat and certificate did not have required features and this invalidated the Will.
First, within the jurat, they said there is no record that anyone ‘read, explained and interpreted the contents of the will to the late Opanin Kwabena Nyanteng in a language he understood when he, purported to thumbprint it…’ They said that this makes the Will invalid
Within the certificate of the lawyer, there is no record of the language that the lawyer used to interpret the Will and they said this fails to provide vital information on how the lawyer interpreted the Will to the Testator.
They therefore sought:
a. A declaration that the Will of the late Opanin Kwabena Nyanteng dated 28th April, 2004 is invalid as nobody read, explained and interpreted the contents of the Will to the deceased in the language he understood before he purported to thumbprint it notwithstanding the fact that a jurat was provided for in the Will.
b. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants whether by themselves, their servants or agents, personal representatives and all who claim title through them from exercising any rights under the said Will.
c. Any further orders that this Honourable Court may deem fit.
The defendants filed a defence to the action. Their position was that the fact that on the face of the Will the lawyer omitted to indicate the language in which the said Will was read and interpreted to the testator does not necessarily make the Will invalid. They described the plaintiffs’ claims as frivolous and counterclaimed.
The application for directions indicated that the primary issue that the plaintiff wanted resolved was whether the contents of the Will were read over and interpreted to the late Opanin Kwabena Nyanteng in accordanc