KYEI BARIMA & 2 OTHERS v. CECILIA AWUAH & ANOTHER
2018
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- ADUAMA OSEI JA (PRESIDING)
- SENYO DZAMEFE JA
- WELBOURNE (MRS.) JA
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Evidence Law
- Civil Procedure
2018
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellate court affirmed the High Courts decision that dismissed the Plaintiffs claims and upheld the Defendants counterclaim regarding the disputed properties. The court determined that the Plaintiffs failed to provide credible evidence proving that Property No. 6, Block R, Ahodwo was a family property, siding with the Defendants' position that it was a self-acquired property of the deceased. Key points include the burden of proof in land claims, the significance of documents like Exhibit 5, and the standards for appellate review of factual determinations by trial courts.
J U D G M E N T
ADUAMA OSEI JA:
This is our judgment in an appeal against a judgment of the High Court, Kumasi, dated the 30th of January, 2015, in which the High Court dismissed the Plaintiffs/Appellants’ claims for declaration of title to certain landed properties, and related reliefs, and entered judgment in favour of the Defendants/Respondents on their counterclaim. The judgment appealed from is at page 206 to page 220 of the Appeal Record, and the Notice of Appeal is at pages 222 and 223 of the same Record. In this judgment, the Plaintiffs/Appellants will be referred to as “the Plaintiffs”, and the Defendants/Respondents will be referred to as “the Defendants”.
The Plaintiffs instituted the action for themselves and on behalf of the Afraso Family of Twedie, and their writ of summons, dated the 7th of February, 2007, was indorsed for reliefs against the Defendants jointly and severally as follows:
(a) Declaration that Property Number 8 Block “C” Adoato, Kumasi, is the property of the Plaintiffs’ family known as Afraso family of Twedie.
(b) Declaration that the block of stores situate on Property Number 6 Block “R” Ahodwo is the property of the family of the Plaintiffs.
(c) An order of injunction restraining the Defendants from in any manner interfering or dealing with the subject properties.
(D) Such further Order or Orders as to the Honourable Court may seem meet.
The statement of claim which accompanied the writ of summons was subsequently amended and in that statement, as amended, the 1st Plaintiff was described as the head of the Afraso family of Twedie, while the 2nd and 3rd Plaintiffs were described as principal members of the said family. The 1st Defendant was described as a widow of the late Samuel Kwame Awuah, who will hereafter be referred to as “the deceased”, and the 2nd Defendant was described as a son of the deceased. Both Defendants were further described as the administratrix and administrator respectively of the estate of the deceased.
Among several other allegations, the Plaintiffs stated in their statement of claim that, during his lifetime, the deceased became head of the Afraso family of Twedie and that the head of family before the deceased assumed that office was John Kofi Awuah, who died on 28th June, 1967.The Defendants alleged that among the properties the late John Kofi Awuah died possessed of was Property Number 8, Block C, Adoato, Kumasi. The Plaintiffs stated that, having taken out letters of administration in res