In this action the plaintiff is claiming general and special damages for wrongful dismissal. The defendant company admits that it dismissed the plaintiff summarily from its employment, but it contends that it did so on good grounds.
The facts are that the defendant, a French company (hereinafter referred to as the company) carrying on business in Ghana, employed the plaintiff as chief clerk in 1957, on the salary of £G20 a month. When the present dispute arose, the plaintiff had worked for the company in various capacities and his salary had been increased to ¢180.00 a month. In 1969, the plaintiff was in charge of the company's new depot at Tema and there were other officers of the company working under the plaintiff.
At the depot, the plaintiff was in control of the company's accounts. That is, he received payments of moneys intended for the company and paid the same into the company's banking account; and he was also responsible for making purchases on behalf of the company. The plaintiff therefore kept two separate accounts—an account of moneys received and an account of moneys paid out. There is a petty cash box at this depot. It was out of the money kept in this box that the plaintiff was authorised to make the required purchases for the company.
Some time in or about February 1969, the plaintiff was in some financial difficulties, and in consequence thereof, he resorted to the petty cash box and took therefrom the sum of ¢160.00 without first obtaining the consent or permission of the company. A check of his account's books was made by the assistant accountant of the company who came from Accra. During the check, the petty cash box from which the plaintiff had taken the ¢160.00 was also checked, and, as could be expected, it was found to be short of ¢160.00. The plaintiff tried to explain away the absence of the ¢160.00, and promised to refund the amount. The said assistant accountant, not being convinced of the plaintiff’s explanation, reported the disappearance of the ¢160.00 from the petty cash box to his superior officer, the Ghana Manager of the company, in Accra.
The Ghana Manager then deputed his next in command, the assistant Ghana Manager, together with the said assistant accountant to go back to the Tema Depot, and to inform the plaintiff of the company's disapproval of his conduct of taking money from the cash box for his personal use without first seeking the approval of the company. The plaintiff repeated to this delegate his earlie
