RAFI ALUMINIUM COMPANY LIMITED v WALID DAKMAK & ANOR

The plaintiff, a limited liability company filed a writ which was accompanied by a statement of claim on 19th February 2007 and claimed certain reliefs. On the 4th of December 2007, the plaintiff amended its writ and statement of claim with leave of the court. The reliefs are as follows:

a. Recovery of possession of the first and/ or second floor of the premises known as plot number 18 Ring Road South Industrial Area, Accra, let to the defendant and/or any other portion of the premises that may be occupied by the defendants.

b. Mesne profits

c. Further or other reliefs

d. Cost

The defendants filed a defence and counterclaimed for the following:

i. Arrears of rent from 1st January 2006 up to date of Judgement at the rate of one thousand dollars or its cedi equivalent per month

ii. Mesne profits from the date hereof to the date of judgement.

iii. Ejectment from the ground floor showroom occupied by the plaintiff on grounds of non- payment of rent.

The basis of the plaintiff’s claim is that plot number 18, Ring Road South Industrial Area, Accra, (herein after referred to as plot number 18) is a government plot which was granted by the Government on lease to Ghana Furniture Manufacturing Company Ltd (herein after referred to as the company) for 50 years from 10th December 1959. The company was to put up structures on the plot to be used for industrial purposes only. The company however assigned its interest in plot number 18 to the plaintiff at a time that it had rented part of the premises to the plaintiff and the other part to the defendants for a term of ten years with five years option effective from 1st March 1996. The defendant had also then subletted part of its sublease to the plaintiff. The plaintiff claimed that since it had acquired the whole plot number 18, and the defendants’ 10 year sublease had lapsed, the defendants should vacate from the premises because they needed the place for their own business. The plaintiffs also claimed that the defendants are using the premises as residential instead of using it for industrial purposes and were also a nuisance to them.

The defendants’ case is that they had a total of 15 year tenancy from the company, which tenancy is to expire in 2011. Since the company’s lease expires on 2009, by operation of law, the defendants’ tenancy has become an assignment of the lease.

The defendants’ further case is that the company knew they were using the premises as resi