NANA BOAKYE v. KOFI POAKWA & 2 ORS.
June 29, 2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- SOWAH, J. A. (PRESIDING)
- OPPONG, J. A.
- MENSAH-HOMIAH, J. A.
Areas of Law
- Tort Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Civil Procedure
June 29, 2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Court of Appeal, per Angelina Mensah-Homiah JA, considered an appeal by a landowner from the High Court, Nkawkaw’s judgment granting title and awarding damages for trespass. The plaintiff, a descendant of Obaapanin Amangu and son of Adwoa Sarfoa, had permitted his maternal uncle’s son, Samuel Darkwa (1st Defendant), to cultivate only food crops on family land at Abodwosu, but he planted cocoa and later received compensation from a mining company (3rd Defendant) operating under a government mining lease over 17.28 square miles. The trial court found trespass and awarded GHC1,000 against the 1st Defendant and GHC4,000 against the 3rd Defendant, plus an injunction. On appeal, the court held special damages had not been pleaded; increased general damages against the 1st Defendant to GHC5,000, set aside the trespass award and injunction against the concessionaire, and directed the plaintiff to statutory compensation remedies under the Minerals and Mining Act.
MENSAH-HOMIAH, JA:
This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court, Nkawkaw dated 23rd December 2019 by which the said court granted Plaintiff’s claims for declaration of title to land and awarded general damages for trespass in his favour. In this appeal, the main question for our determination is the adequacy of the damages so awarded in Plaintiff/Appellant’s favour. In tackling this question, we will also consider the legal basis for the award of damages for trespass in the peculiar circumstances of this case.
The designation of the parties at the trial court will be maintained in this appeal.
At the High Court, the Plaintiff had sought the following reliefs for himself and his siblings at Kwabeng:
(i) A declaration of title to and (sic) possession of all that farmland situate at Abodwosu on Kwabeng Stool Land and bounded by the properties of Op. Kwabena Dede, Opanin Sefah Op. Kune, Yaw Donkor, Maame Krah, Abodwosu Stream, Bomaa Citizens.
(ii) Damages for Trespass.
(iii) An order of Injunction restraining the Defendants, their servants, agents, workmen, assigns and all those claiming through them from possession and occupation of the aforesaid property.
In his statement of claim, Plaintiff traced his root of title to the land in dispute to one Obaapanin Amangu, his maternal grandmother. By a subsequent partitioning, Plaintiff alleged that the land was given to the children of Adwoa Sarfoa who was the daughter of Amangu. Plaintiff described himself as a biological son of Adwoa Sarfoa. Plaintiff further stated that, Defendants have committed various acts of trespass to this land, and 1st Defendant has even received compensation from 3rd Defendant, a mining company.
The 1st and 3rd Defendants in their respective statements of Defence essentially denied the claims made by Plaintiff. 1st Defendant averred that, the land in issue is Aduana family land which has not been partitioned. And, he received the compensation from 3rd Defendant as an affected farmer whose crops had been destroyed and not as land owner. Furthermore, 1st Defendant alleged that he used half of the compensation to renovate the Aduana family house.
3rd Defendant’s defence was that, having obtained a valid mining lease, the company met all “would-be affected farm owners” and discussed compensation package with them. It was 3rd Defendant’s pleaded case that the Amangu family was represented by one Samuel Darkwa (same as 1st Defendant), and he collected the compensation on be