JAMES OPPONG v. BASHIRU

JUDGMENT

Plaintiff sued Defendant by a writ of summons filed on 07th July 2022 seeking the following

reliefs:

a) Declaration that Plaintiff’s pledge cocoa farm[sic] stuate, lying and being at

Akurakan on Buabin Stool Land bounded by the farms of Kojo Boakye, Kofi Boamah

and Agyaku is subject to redemption.

b) An order to bear upon the defendant to receive refund of pledge consideration of

GH¢20000.00 in respect of the pledge[sic] cocoa farm described supra.

c) Any further order(s) as the Honourable[sic] deem[sic] it fit to make in the

circumstances.

Defendant counterclaimed as follows:2

a. Defendant by counter claim[sic], claim[sic] against the plaintiff is for cash sum of

GH¢40000.00 being the double of cash of GH¢20000.00 presented to the plaintiff by the

Defendant for the mortgage of the cocoa farm.

b. Damages for breach of contract.

c. Cost[sic]

Plaintiff, after testifying, called one witness hereinafter referred to as PW1. Defendant, after

testifying called no witness. Plaintiff did not cross-examine Defendant. Defendant crossexamined Plaintiff.

The crux of the matter is that Plaintiff got into some difficulty financially and Defendant

through PW1 came his aid. The parties went into an agreement which they reduced into

writing, a copy of which was tendered in evidence by Defendant and marked Exhibit 1.

The following is the content of Exhibit 1:

“PLEDGE OF COCOA FARM

THIS IS ‘PLEDGE OF COCOA FARM’ and it is entered into between:--

A. YAW APPONG of Dunkwa-On-Offin the Upper Denkyira East Municipality in the Central

Region of the Republic of Ghana refer[sic] to as(hereinafter called the Pledgor)[sic] on the first

part

And

B. BASHIRU ISSAKA of Dunkwa-On-Offin in the Upper Denkyira West District[sic] in the

Central Region of the Republic of Ghana refer[sic] to as(hereinafter called ‘Pledgee’) on the

second part

DESCRIPTION OF COCOA FARM

ALL THAT COCOA FARM WHICH IS SITUATE, LYING AND BEING AT A PLACE

COMMONLY KNOWN AND CALLED “AKROKAN” NEAR DUNKWA-ON-OFFIN AND3

HAS AN AREA OF THREE(3) ACRES AND IS BOUNDED BY THE PROPERTIES OF THE

FOLLOWING PEOPLE: KWADWO BOAKYE, AMA ACHIAA, KOJO OWUSU AND YAW

BOATENG.

TERMS OF PLEDGE

1. That the ‘Pledgor’ has indicated to the ‘Pledgee’ that the property in issue is his own

bonafide[sic] property and that it is absolutely free from family claims and litigations, which

facts have been ascertained from the appropriate quarters by the ‘pledgee’ to be true.

2. T