OSEI v. SIRIBOUR II

Adade J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. In 1982 the appellant, J. T. Osei (hereafter referred to as the plaintiff) sued the respondent, Nana Otuo Siribour II, Omanhene of the Juaben Traditional Area (hereafter referred to as the defendant) in the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs for reliefs which are better quoted than paraphrased, viz:

"Wherefore the petitioner [plaintiff] claims that [the judicial committee of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs] may:

(a) declare that the petitioner is a royal of the Juaben paramount stool of Ashanti;

(b) direct the respondent to recognise and to treat the petitioner as such."

The plaintiff alleges that there are three main branches of the Juaben royal family. These are the Nana Dwuwaa branch; the Nana Akua Mensah branch; and the Nana Abrafi Mensah branch. He claims that he descends from the Nana Dwuwaa branch through one Nana Abena Serwaa an elder sister of Nana Dwuwaa. Many many years ago, this Nana Abena Serwaa migrated from Juaben, sojourned in several places, and eventually settled at Mfensi where apparently the plaintiff was born. Later, on hearing of his true roots he, the plaintiff, came to Juaben, explained his circumstances to the defendant in the presence of elders, and was acknowledged a member of the Juaben royal family as a true descendant of Nana Dwuwaa. He performed the relevant custom to seal this acknowledgment. Subsequently, however, the defendant has conducted himself in such a way as to deny the plaintiff his royal status. Accordingly, he brought this action before the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs to have it declared that he is a royal of the Juaben [p.591] stool, and, so to speak, to seek an injunction against the defendant from denying that he is such a royal.

The regional house dismissed the action in limine on the main ground that in Ashanti customary claims to royalty are made to the queenmother or else the abusuapanin (head of family) of the royal stool, who alone are in a position to know who their royals are. The defendant, who is himself only one of the royals, but neither the abusuapanin nor the queenmother, is not a proper defendant to such an action, even though he occupies the Omanhene stool. On this ground the suit was dismissed.

The regional house, however, resisted a challenge to its jurisdiction and held, contrary to objections by the defendant, that the matter itself is a "cause or matter affecting chieftaincy" within the meaning of that phrase in section