IN RE SASU-TWUM (DECD.); SASU-TWUM v. TWUM

JUDGMENT OF ABBAN J.

The plaintiff, by her originating summons, submitted six questions for determination, and prayed that the court may make declarations as to her rights and those of her children in respect of certain properties of which her deceased husband died intestate. She also asked for directions on the distribution of the said estate of her husband.

The facts of the case which were not in dispute are as follows: The plaintiff and her husband, the late Solomon Sasu-Twum, were on 24 July 1958 married under the Marriage Ordinance, Cap. 127 (1951 Rev.), at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Accra. After the marriage they set up their matrimonial home in Accra. The husband died intestate on 4 August 1973. He was survived by both parents, four sons of the marriage and the plaintiff. The father, who claimed to have been appointed the customary successor of his deceased son, is the defendant in the present proceedings.

As at the date when the originating summons herein was filed, that is 13 February 1975 the eldest of the four sons, called Daniel Sasu-Twum was sixteen years old while the youngest was six. It can therefore be seen that all the children are still infants. The parties, who had been apparently on friendly terms before the dispute arose, applied to this court for letters of administration in respect of the estate of the deceased: and accordingly, on 16 September 1974 the court issued to them joint letters to administer the estate.

At the time of his death, the deceased was running a shop at house No. D.827/4 Kojo Thompson Road, Accra. The shop contained a lot of goods valued at several thousands of cedis. He also left six dwelling-houses, all in Accra. It was in the course of sharing those properties among those legally entitled to them, that the present dispute reared its ugly head. So that the questions in the originating summons and the declarations sought are mainly in respect of the shares which the plaintiff and her four sons are entitled to so far as the said goods and the six houses are concerned.

In her affidavits and in her oral evidence the plaintiff alleged that she was a certificated teacher (certificate B) before her marriage to the deceased. She continued to teach until 31 July 1970 when the deceased asked her to stop. She did stop and collected her marriage gratuity of ¢816. According to her, she gave this amount to the deceased, at the request of the deceased, as her contribution towards the purchase price of the goods in the s