NII TETTEH OPREMREH II & ANOR v. KOMEXA LTD. & ORS
2019
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- V.D. OFOE J.A (PRESIDING)
- B.F. ACKAH-YENSU J.A
- I. O. TANKO AMADU J.A
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Constitutional Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Civil Procedure
2019
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Court of Appeal, per Tanko Amadu J.A, dismissed an appeal by the Chief of Shiashie and the Head of Apiantse We challenging a High Court judgment in a dispute over land at Shiashie and environs acquired by the State in 1944. The Appellants sought to rely on a 1999 High Court ruling (Suit No.679/93) to invoke res judicata against the Lands Commission and grantees, and to set aside government leases. The Court held that occupation by Shiashie and other villages was by government license pursuant to the Alomatu Committee’s recommendations, negating adverse possession. It found that Suit No.679/93 was tainted by fraud due to concealment of the report; that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to interpret Article 20; and that the ruling lacked finality to ground estoppel, especially as the Lands Commission was not a party. The Court affirmed joinder of the La Stool and the 5th Defendant family and upheld the validity of their counterclaims, ultimately dismissing the appeal and affirming cancellation of the Appellants’ land certificates.
TANKO AMADU J.A
(1) This appeal is from the judgment of the High Court (Land Division) Accra dated the 22nd day of February 2018. Before I proceed however, it is important to place on record that the instant appeal is with respect to the appeal filed by the Plaintiffs/Appellants per their notice filed on 16/5/2017 at pages 630 to 633 of Vol.2 of the record of appeal and not the notice filed by the 2nd Defendant/Appellant on 12/4/2017 from the same judgment on pages 627 to 628 of Vol. 3 of the record of appeal. Secondly, I need to place on record that at the hearing of the instant appeal, when our attention was drawn to the pendency of the appeal filed by the 2nd Defendant/Appellant, we requested all counsel in the instant appeal to address us on the necessity of bringing the two (2) appeals to the attention of the Chief Justice to enable a directive to be made for the two (2) appeals to be consolidated in order to avoid the possibility of different panels of this court delivering judgments arising from the same record but with inconsistent outcomes. We proceeded to deal with this appeal based on the assurances of all counsel that the issues arising for determination in the 2nd Defendant/Appellant’s appeal in the notice filed on 12/4/2017, are issues limited to accounts and payment of compensation which are radically different from the issues arising from the grounds set forth in the instant appeal.
(2) In the High Court (Land Division) Accra, the Plaintiffs/ Appellants (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Appellants’) commenced action by writ issued on 9/9/2009 against only the 1st Defendant on record. However, by various processes of joinder granted by the Trial Court which resulted in several amendments to the Appellants’ original writ, the trial was eventually determined on the basis of the Appellants’ amended writ and statement of claim against five (5) Defendants as endorsed in the judgment of the Trial Court on appeal. The Respondents in this appeal are the 2nd, 4th and 5th Defendants hereinafter referred to simply as 2nd, 4th and 5th Respondents.
(3) By the last amendment of parties and reliefs sought from the Trial Court on 10/3/2015, the two (2) Appellants herein who are the Chief of Shiashie and Head of Apiantse We of Lenshie Quarter of La, Accra respectively acting for and on behalf of the Apiantse jointly and severally claimed against the Defendants/ Respondents (herein) as follows:-
“(a) As against the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants jointly and s