KINGSFORD ARCHER v. ABLEKUMA NORTH MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY

Per Writ of Summons filed on the 14/12/2022, the Plaintiff prayed the Court for the following reliefs:

(1)A declaration that the Defendant’s inscription “Road: REMOVE NOW-BY ABNMA 18-10-22” written on the wall of the House No. 8, Cup Plant Street, South Odorkor, Accra on the 18th October, 2022 is offensive and unlawful;

(2)A declaration that the said inscription amounts to intimidation, harassment, embarrassment, inconvenience and pain;

(3)Damages for trespass, inconvenience and pain

(4)An order to remove the offensive inscription;

(5)Perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant, its servants, agents, assigns or whomsoever acting in its name from ever interfering with the said fence wall in

(6)Costs, including lawyer’s fees.any manner;

Defendant entered appearance and filed Statement of Defence. They denied all material facts and prayed the Court to dismiss the reliefs put before the court by the Plaintiff.

The following issues were set down for trial;

1.Whether or not the Plaintiff is the rightful owner of the landed property known as Parcel No. 418 (House No. 8, Cup Plant Street), South Odorkor, Accra.

2.Whether or not the said house with a fence, is covered by building permit officially issued by the then Accra-Tema City Council.

3.Whether or not the Defendant’s inscription “ROAD: REMOVE NOW-BY ABNMA 18-10-22” on the wall of the said house is offensive and unlawful, amounting to intimidation, harassment, embarrassment, inconvenience and unjust treatment of the Plaintiff.

THE BURDEN OF PROOF/ BURDEN OF PERSUASION

Before proceeding to deal with the evaluation of the law and the evidence in this case viz-a viz the issues set down, let me make some preliminary remarks about what was required by the law in relation to the duty of the Plaintiffs. By law, the Plaintiffs have a burden to prove their case to the standard required in civil actions; that is, on a balance of probabilities.

Section 11 of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323) states in part;

Section 11—Burden of Producing Evidence Defined.

Section 11(1) for the purposes of this Decree, the burden of producing evidence means the obligation of a party to introduce sufficient evidence to avoid a ruling against him on the issue.

***Section 11 (4) In other circumstances the burden of producing evidence requires a party to produce sufficient evidence so that on all the evidence a reasonable mind c