OHENE KWAKU TUPRI. v. TETE WAYO
1912
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HIS HONOUR SIR PHILIP CRAMPTON SMYLY, KNIGHT, CHIEF JUSTICE
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Evidence Law
- Civil Procedure
1912
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Chief Justice, Sir Philip Crampton Smyly, adjudicated a land dispute at Djomuah concerning a cocoa farm and adjoining boundaries. The Plaintiff, assisted by his brother and land agent Mr. Thompson, alleged a larger extent of land than shown on a joint plan prepared by surveyor Mr. George. Thompson’s boundary claims shifted between the writ, testimony, and new particulars and plan prepared without the Defendant, and witness Obimpe’s information exposed inaccuracies. The Defendant maintained that his father purchased the land about thirty years earlier from the Jakiti Ohene, and that he had continuously possessed it, with rope-measured boundaries closely matching the survey. Evidence taken from Konor Mate Kole, a member of the Legislative Council, reflected a Dawa judgment indicating Akrunsu land was Jakiti property, not granted to the Begoros. Finding the Plaintiff’s evidence unreliable and possibly deceptive, the court entered judgment for the Defendant with costs and ordered the Plaintiff to bear three-quarters of the joint plan’s cost, cautioning witnesses about perjury under Ordinance No. 5 of 1876.
In this case the Plaintiff claims recovery of possession of all that piece or parcel of land with cocoa farm thereon situate at Djomuah and bounded on the East by land belonging to the Defendant, on the West by property belonging to the Begoro stool, on the North by property belonging to the Begoro stool, and on the South by property belonging to the Begoro stool, and.£50 mesne profits.
The Plaintiff's brother, a Mr. Thompson an educated man appears to have been given a free hand by the Plaintiff as to the Begoro stool lands. It is agreed that Anchi Kwesi Plaintiff's predecessor in title some 30 years ago sold Begoro lands, the Begoros being Akims, to Krobos -amongst them to the Defendant and his predecessor. The question I have to decide is the actual extent of the original grant of land by Anchi Kwesi to Asafoatse Kwao Plaintiff's predecessor as head of his family.
The history of the case is peculiar, when it first came on for trial it was pointed out, by Counsel for the Defence, that the boundaries given by the Plaintiff on the joint plan to be put in were different to those put in by the Plaintiff in an action previously taken by him against another person; Plaintiff's Counsel then after consulting with Mr. Thompson asked the permission of the Court to retire from the case as Mr. Thompson refused to take his advice. Leave was granted and the case adjourned for Plaintiff to retain other Counsel.
On the case coming on for hearing a joint plan was put in by consentby this map the land pointed out by Mr. Thompson to Mr. George the surveyor as belonging to the Defendant is coloured yellow on the map, and forms only a very small portion of the land in dispute. The boundaries would appear to be an Oddamoma tree on the North-West, a Duabo tree on the South-West, a Wa wa tree on the South-East, and a small stone fixed by Manche Mante Kole on the North-East.
The first day of hearing Mr. Thompson went into the box and gave the Defendant's boundaries as from the Oddamoma tree to Adjei's boundary, where there is a stone fixed from the Oddamoma tree to the letter 0 in the word DJOMUAH STREAM, and from there to Kole's going along the bank of the stream where the three trees are. From the three trees he said we claim the land on the top boundaries, entirely different from those in the
plan or the writ of summons. The second day of hearing, particulars having been asked for as to the actual land claimed, were put in with a plan attached which the Plaintiff had mad