ISSAH AHENE v. VIVIAN AKU BROWN-DANQUAH
2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- WELBOURNE J. A. (PRESIDING)
- GAISIE J.A.
- BAFFOUR J.A
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence Law
2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This appeal arises from a land dispute in the Ga East District involving Allahu/Masha Allahu village near Abokobi. The appellant claimed to have founded the village and sought title to 396.96 acres, recovery, and injunction after the respondent, head of the Adutso family of Osu, enforced earlier victories in Vivian Aku Brown v. Samuel Languaye Odartey (Court of Appeal H1/123/2013, affirmed by Supreme Court J4/4/2016) declaring about 500 acres at Abokobi belonged to Adutso. The appellate court rejected the appellant’s claim of allodial ownership by discovery as implausible, noting corroborated historical accounts and an indenture confirming a 238-acre grant to Adutso, and held that any attack on prior judgments for forged site plans must be brought as a fraud action. Recognizing evidence of longstanding occupation, the court applied the Limitation Act to grant the appellant continued possession of 12 acres (consistent with his prior pleading in FAL/378/2011), ordered a surveyor to demarcate those 12 acres from the center of Allahu village, and dismissed the remainder, with no costs.
Baffour J.A:
INTRODUCTION
Notwithstanding the volume of records being six in all with each running into over three hundred and fifty pages, the resolution of the grievances of the plaintiff/appellant largely turns on the appropriateness of the essential findings and conclusions of the learned trial Judge in dismissing the claims of the plaintiff/appellant as unproven. At the heart of the appeal is a wrangling over the ownership of what Plaintiff/Appellant stated to be 396.96 acres of land at Allahu village sandwiched between Ga rural towns/villages of Abokobi, Abladjei, Boi, Agula Tesa, Sepene, Mensa Bu and a now ruined village of Adansi, all within the Ga East District Assembly. As to whether the conclusion of the trial Judge ought to be reversed would be made clear infra after the background to what has transpired at the court below has been summarized. For the sake of convenience, the plaintiff and defendant would simply be referred to as appellant and respondent respectively.
Appellant’s claim
What precipitated the issuance of the amended writ came on the heels of a sweet and salivating victory recorded by the Respondent at both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in Suit instituled Vivian Aku Brown v Samuel Languaye Odartey in Suit No: H1/123/2013. In that suit the Respondent as the head of family and lawful representative of the Adutso family of Osu was declared the owner of about 500 acres of land at Abokobi over Samuel Languaye Odartey, who had also represented Odartey Sro family of Osu as its head of family. Armed with this judgment of the Court of Appeal that had upended the reasoning and conclusion of the High Court presided over by Agbloyor J., the Respondents and their assigns proceeded to enforce the judgment by writing on the walls of erected properties for the production of documents. Appellant, provoked by the writing on the walls of its village called Allahu village or Masha Allahu village by its amended writ sought for a declaration of title to 396.96 acres of land, recovery of possession of any of its land trespassed on by the Respondent, perpetual injunction, general damages and cost.
In support of its reliefs the appellant in its amended statement of claim filed on the 20th of June, 2019, claimed to have founded and settled on Masha Allahu village about seventy-five (75) years ago through farming, hunting, building and granting or permitting other persons to be on the land. That since the discovery he had been in possession