IN RE THE PUBLIC LANDS (LEASEHOLD) ORDINANCE AND IN RE LAND ACQUIRED AT ACCRA FOR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WORKSHOP OSU MANTSE & ORS. (CLAIMANTS)

JUDGMENT OF OLLENNU J.

This matter came before the Court under section 13 of the Public Lands (Leasehold) Ordinance, for the Court to determine which of the claimants is (or are) entitled to compensation for a piece of land acquired by the Government under Certificate of Title granted by the Court on the 1st February, 1955, by virtue of section 8 of the said Ordinance.

The principal claimants are the 1st claimant (the Osu Mantse) and the 3rd claimant (the Acting Gbese Mantse, who claims on behalf of the Ga Stool, the Gbese Stool and the Korle We Stool). The claims of these two groups are made with reference to a boundary fixed between them in the judgment of Jackson J., delivered on the 31st May, 1951, in suits popularly known as the Kokomlemle Consolidated Suits, and confirmed by a judgment of the West African Court of Appeal (14 W.A.C.A. 676). So far as the dispute between these two principal groups is concerned, therefore, the matter is res judicata.

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The 2nd claimant, Nii Yeboa Nortey, claims in the dual capacity of head of the Nii family and Dsasetse of Ashanti Blohum, Osu. He bases his claim upon an alleged grant made by the Osu Stool to his ancestor, one Nii Tettey Ashong, of lands known as Kotobabi lands, of which the land acquired is a portion. He says that the alleged grant was made as a reward for services rendered by the said Nii Tettey Ashong to the Stool and people of Osu in the Gua (Cape Coast) War, and in the Katamanso War. The alleged grant, if proved, can only be effective as regards Osu Stool Lands, and not otherwise; consequently the 2nd claimant’s claim, if maintainable, can only be in respect of that portion of the land acquired which can be shown to be on the Osu side of the boundary fixed by the aforesaid judgment. Therefore, whether as a subject or as a grantee of the Osu Stool, the 2nd claimant is estopped by reason of the aforesaid judgment from claiming compensation in respect of any portion of the acquired land falling on the Accra side of the boundary.

It now remains to decide the dispute between the 1st and the 2nd claimants as regards the claim to compensation in respect of the portion of the Osu Stool land acquired. The 2nd claimant represents a family, or recognised group, in the Ashanti Blohum (Ashanti Quarter) of Osu. As Dsasetse of Ashanti Blohum he is head of that quarter, and apart from the Mankralo of Osu himself, he is the most important constituent of the Mankralo’s Stool. He is bound by any decision