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JUDGMENT
The plaintiff issued a writ of summons on the 18th May, 2022 against the 1st and 2nd
defendants for a declaration of title, recovery of possession, general damages for
trespass and perpetual injunction in respect of a land at “Pronuro nu” on Boinzan
stool land and bounded by the properties of Yaa Twumwaa, Opanin Kwabena Bennie,
the late Ababio and the Anglican Church at Boinzan, which land the defendants had
encroached upon and operating galamsey on it.
On the 22nd June, 2022, the defendant filed a motion on notice to join Brother Isaac to
the suit, and the court granted it on 7th July, 2022 and joined him as the 3rd defendant.
It is the case of the plaintiff that the land in dispute belonged to his late uncle Kwabena
Tawiah. That his Uncle Kwabena Tawiah and grandfather Opanin Yaw Mensah gave
their secondary forest to the 2nd defendant church to farm on it. So the 2nd defendant
did not break any virgin forest. But Kwabena Tawiah maintained the disputed land,
which was swampy and cultivated okro, pepper, tomato and others on it, and his
Uncle Kwabena Tawiah gifted the land to him before he died. The plaintiff said
Kwabena Tawiah’s land gifted to him shared a boundary with Opanin Kwabena
Bennie. The plaintiff said he and his mother and siblings cultivated Okro, pepper,
tomato and others on the land in dispute. That the second defendant church had
encroached on his soggy or swampy land and operated illegal mining on it.
The defence of the defendants was put up by the 2nd defendant, Isaac Asiedu Gyamfi,
who is the Catchiest of the 2nd defendant church and represented the said church. It is
their case that the land in dispute was a gift in its virgin forest state from the then chief
of Anyinam called Nana Atta Kwame and two (2) other persons, Peter Ankamah and
Joseph Yaw oppong, who were members of the second defendant’s church to establish
a branch of the church at Anyinam. That the second defendant church cultivated oil
palm on the land in dispute and the adjoining dry land and after uprooting the palm
trees, the 2nd defendant church cultivated cocoa on the dry land and also cultivated
sugarcane and rice on the soggy or swampy land which was the disputed land. That
the church shared a common boundary with plaintiff’s mother, Kate Akyea on the
swampy land and had not encroached upon plaintiff’s swampy land to operate
galamsey on it.
The issues for determination are:
1. Whether or not the plaintiff’s uncle, Kwabena Tawiah gave t