MADAM SHATU WANDAHO & 5 ORS VS ALIHU YELBI
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- BARBARA TETTEH-CHARWAY (J)
Areas of Law
- Evidence Law
- Family Law
- Probate and Succession
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case involved a dispute between family members regarding the ownership of a house acquired by the deceased. The defendant claimed exclusive ownership, while the plaintiffs sought shared ownership and distribution per Islamic law. Failed mediation efforts led to a court case. The court held that the property should be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Law, 1985 (PNDCL 111), dismissing the defendant's claim for exclusive ownership due to inadequate supporting evidence.
The plaintiffs in this action are a mother and her daughters while the defendant is her only male child. The defendant and the 2nd to 6th plaintiffs are the children of the 1st plaintiff and one Yusif Yelbi, hereafter referred to as the deceased. The said Yusif Yelbi, acquired the property in dispute, namely, House No. C 810/12, Pig Farm, Accra in his lifetime.
The plaintiffs’ case as can be gleaned from their statement of claim is that the defendant, who is the only male child of the deceased, asserted ownership over the entire property in dispute to the exclusion of his mother and sisters. According to the plaintiffs, the defendant, after the deceased’s death, sought permission to build three extra rooms on the undeveloped section of the deceased’s estate. He proposed that he would rent out the rooms for a period of eight years to recoup his investment. Thereafter, the estate would be distributed among all the beneficiaries. After the period of eight years had elapsed, the plaintiffs claimed that an attempt was made to distribute the deceased’s estate between his wife and children; however, the defendant surprisingly objected to the distribution on the grounds that the entire property belonged to him. The plaintiffs therefore took the matter to the Islamic Research Centre for resolution but the defendant refused to honour their invitation. They therefore sent the matter to the National Chief Imam’s office for resolution. Upon hearing the matter, the officers at the National Chief Imam’s office inspected the property and drew up a distribution plan that made adequate provision for all the beneficiaries; however, the defendant alone, refused to sign the document. This development led the plaintiffs to seek redress at the Legal Aid Office where the defendant was invited for mediation. According to the 2 plaintiffs, the defendant rejected the outcome of the mediation, hence the present action. It is the plaintiff’s case that the defendant is seeking to deprive them of their portion of the estate of the deceased. Furthermore, the plaintiffs claimed that the defendant surreptitiously obtained the document covering the property in dispute. The plaintiffs therefore urged the court to grant them the following reliefs;
1. A declaration that all that property known as House No. C 810/12 Pig Farm, Accra belongs to the estate of Yusif Yelbi
2. A declaration that the widow and all the children of the late Yusif Yelbi are entitled to a share of his estate
3. An