KESSIE v. CHARMANT AND ANOTHER

JUDGMENT OF ANNAN, JA.

The plaintiff claims "the sum of £G50,000 or 100,000 new cedis from the defendants jointly and severally for breach of a contract between the said plaintiff and the defendants contained in a document dated 2 December 1960." The writ was filed on 21 June 1968. The plaintiff is a solicitor and barrister-at-law and has held office as an ambassador in Monrovia, Peking and Cairo. He was first appointed to the diplomatic service in August 1959. The first defendant is the managing director of the second defendants - a company registered in Ghana and engaged in the production of timber and sawn boards. The plaintiff's statement of claim states inter alia:

"(3) In December 1960 the first defendant asked the plaintiff in his private capacity to approach the President of Liberia and other senior officials of the Department of Forestry to grant the defendant company a timber concession of about 3,000 square miles to enable them to operate in Liberia.

(4) In consideration for this and other services the plaintiff demanded the sum of £G5,000 or 10,000 new cedis in cash and five per cent of the shares from the first defendant; the first defendant in the same letter offered the plaintiff a directorship of the company which carried with it a remuneration of £G5,000 or 10,000 new cedis in case the plaintiff resigned his diplomatic service appointment at any time. The plaintiff also accepted the offers made to him by the first defendant and on behalf of the second defendants.

(5) After nearly six weeks of negotiations and discussions on behalf of the defendants the plaintiff succeeded in acquiring the said concession for the defendants in Liberia.

[p.197]

(6) Since the defendants acquired the concession in Liberia the defendants have failed to fulfil the conditions of the agreement and have since 1961 failed to deliver the share certificates to the plaintiff and have also not submitted a single statement of account to the plaintiff both in his capacity as a shareholder and as a director despite numerous reminders both oral and written.

(7) In December 1967 the manager, the first defendant's brother Patrick Charmant, of the Liberian concession showed some papers alleged to be a statement of account for 1966 to the plaintiff and promised to communicate with the plaintiff about the shares and other statement of account, but this has not been done by the defendant's brother.

(8) In the circumstances the plaintiff considers this to be a complete v