J U D G M E N T
There is a family called Kplen We family of Agbawe-Abafum Quarter, La, Accra. This family (the plaintiff herein) claims to be the allodial owners of lands at the villages of Oyarifa, Frafraha and Adentan. As a matter of fact there is a judgment of the High Court, Coram Victor Ofoe J (as he then was) tendered in evidence as Exhibit ‘C’ which confirms that the plaintiff is the allodial owner of the lands at the villages of Oyarifa, Frafraha and Adentan. Exhibit ‘C’ was delivered in 2001.
Apparently, this family was a large family consisting of several elders and sub-families. The family suffered from leadership crisis. Indeed there was in-fighting among the elders as to who has authority to alienate the family land. For instance, at one time James Nii Mensah Kodua otherwise known as Nii Mensah Okpoti Kodia genuinely believed it had the right to alienate portions of the land of the family and actually alienated land to people.
However, in Exhibit ‘C’ Ofoe J (as he then was ) made a finding of fact to the effect that there was nothing like Joint heads and lawful representatives of the Kodia family of Frafraha/Oyarifa or Joint head of Kplen We family of Frafaha/Oyarifa.
It was further established by Exhibit ‘C’ that the joint heads of the Kodia family was formulated for the sole purpose of disposing or otherwise selling the family land.
Some where along the line, the elders, the principals and the ordinary members alike, decided to act in concert in alienating lands belonging to the Kplen We family as a measure of addressing the situation where any elder can style himself as the head and lawful representative of the family like what Kodia was doing and to forestall any further divisional tendencies, the in fighting and acrimony within the family.
What happened was that seven elders of the family in their capacities as traditional office holders of the family settled on a statutory declaration tendered as Exhibit ‘A’ whereby they constituted themselves into what they called “council of Kplen we Elders” and arrogated to themselves the right to manage all Kplen We lands and therefore the power and authority to alienate the family lands in their joint names. These seven elders were named as Nii Okpoti Massey also called Nii Kplen of La; Nii Adjei Boye, acting Atofoatse of La; Alhaji Abubakar Sowah Okpoti, elder of La; Nii Krotia Kwame Sowah, elder of Oyarifa; Madam Theresa Adjetey Abotsi, elder of La; Nii Sowah Kodia, elder of La and Nii Boye
