OHENEBA KOFI DURO v. KWAME MANHYIA

JUDGMENT

QUAYE J.A.

This appeal is from the decision of the High Court, Kumasi, given on 30th May, 1996 in favour of the plaintiff/respondent (herein called the respondent), By his writ of summons filed on 3rd June, 1985 the respondent herein endorsed a claim for"

(a) a declaration that all piece of land situate at a place known and commonly called BESEHO AHOREYE at Aburom near Saman on Kwabere Kenyase Stool land and having boundaries with Odumanafo Stool land, Saman Dikro's farm land, Opanin Asuria of Konkodie's land, the land of Serwaa Akoto and the Stool land of Abodwese and measuring about 50.59 acres more or less........is property of plaintiffs material family

(b) .........a declaration that the land described........above was the subject of a pledge by the plaintiff's predecessor Kofi Duro for the sum of four pounds thirteen shillings £4.13/-

(c) An order against the defendant for the redemption of the land described ....above by the payment to the defendant by plaintiff of the said sum of £4.13/-.

(d) An order of perpetual injunction to restrain defendant, his servants, Agents and assigns from interfering with the plaintiffs right in the said land."

The crux of the action therefore appears to be firstly to declare or confirm the ownership of the defined subject land in the respondent, and when that hurdle of ownership had been cleared in favour of the respondent, for the court to proceed to make a second finding that the said piece of property measuring some fifty acres or more, was subject of a pledge by the predecessors of the respondent to those of the defendant/appellant (in the Judgment simply referred to as appellant) By his defence, the appellant merely claimed his family ownership of the subject property and counterclaimed for a declaration of title thereto and also for an order of perpetual injunction against the respondent and his family.

The respondent gave evidence and was supported by three witnesses who testified as boundary owners and related what they know, observed or had been handed down by traditional evidence to them respecting the disputed land. His evidence centered on how the disputed land came to be owned by his family. According to the unchallenged evidence of the respondent an ancestress of his, by the name Nana Adwapa was married to one Nana Antwi Kofi the then Kenyasehene, and as the custom invariably was, the husband/chief sealed off the marriage with a gift of the disputed land to his said wife. The respondent