NANA AMUA GYEBU & ANOTHER v. FRANK ISAAC MENSAH
2017
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- HONYENUGA, J.A. (PRESIDING)
- GYAN, J.A.
- SUURBAAREH, J.A.
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence Law
- Tort Law
2017
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This Ghana Court of Appeal decision, authored by SUURBAAREH, J.A., resolves a century-old dispute over Sankoba lands adjacent to the Whin River. The respondents traced the appellant’s claimed title to an 1896 auction arising from Kofi Parker v. Amantu Essien, asserting the auction conveyed only 88.23 acres at Apremdu measured 2,440 by 1,586 feet. They challenged later statutory declarations by George Nketsia and Kwamina Yankum that re-sited the land to Apowa and expanded it to 599.17 acres, which were then used to secure judgments and transact grants over broader stool lands. The High Court accepted exhibit “C” as the authentic auction record, declared the declarations and judgments fraudulent, and granted recovery, damages, injunction, and accounts. On appeal, the Court of Appeal treated the matter as a rehearing, affirmed the trial court’s reliance on the official documentary record, rejected the instalment-payment and long-possession arguments, applied settled principles that fraud vitiates everything, defeats estoppel and res judicata, and delays limitation until discovery, and dismissed the appeal in its entirety.
SUURBAAREH, JA
The plaintiffs/respondents, called respondents hereafter, per their writ of summons of 3rd February 2012, sought the following reliefs against the defendant/appellant, who would simply be referred to as appellant subsequently:
“i. A declaration that the property the subject matter of the auction dated 2nd day of December, 1896 in the suit titled Kofi Parker vrs Amantu Essien, measuring 2,440 feet by 1,586 feet covered 88.23 acres of land situate at Apremdu and not 599.17 acres situate at North of New Amanful within Apowa acres (sic) as falsely declared in the Statutory Declaration by the defendant’s predecessor dated 28th August 1969.
ii. An order setting aside the Statutory Declaration dated 28th August 1969 on grounds of fraud and the fraudulent declaration and misrepresentation therein of the location and acreage of the land auctioned in 1896.
iii. An order setting aside all judgments obtained by the defendant’s predecessors based on the said fraudulent misrepresentation as having been obtained by fraud.
iv. General damages for trespass.
v. Perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, servants, cohurts, privies and all persons claiming through him from dealing with, interfering with and developing the remaining portions of Sankoba lands save the portions being the subject of the lease dated 28th November 1963 between the 1st plaintiffs’ predecessor and Anthony Arthur Mussey.
vi. An order setting aside all transactions between the defendant and his predecessors on one part and any third party in respect of portions of Sankoba lands which does not form part of the auctioned portions.
vii. Recovery of possession of plaintiffs’ land excluding the portions the subject of the lease dated 28th November 1963.
viii. Accounts of all monies had and received in respect of the land described in paragraph 3 supra alienated by the defendant and his predecessors excluding the portions the subject of the lease dated 28th November 1963 and payment of all monies to the plaintiffs”.
In support of the above claims, the respondents filed a twenty four (24) paragraphed statement of claim in which they averred that, as a result of litigation between one Amantu Essien, a member of their Royal Family and one Kofi Parker in the 1880’s in which judgment was entered in favour of Amantu Essien, with cost being awarded against Kofi Parker, which he could not pay, by a writ of execution, dated 13th October 1896, land belonging to Kofi Parker sit