REPUBLIC v. COURT OF APPEAL; EX PARTE EKUNTAN II

This case involves a dispute over the possession of stool properties, particularly the stool itself, following the installation of Nana Kwamena Ekuntan II as chief of Dwomo. The ebusuapanyin (head of family) sued for the return of the stool after it was forcibly taken on the chief's orders. The High Court ruled in favor of the ebusuapanyin, but the defendants appealed. The case reached the Supreme Court on an application for certiorari to quash the Court of Appeal's order for the chief's arrest. The Supreme Court determined that the case constituted a "cause or matter affecting chieftaincy" under the Chieftaincy Act, 1971 (Act 370). As such, neither the High Court nor the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to entertain the case. The Supreme Court ruled that all orders made by the lower courts were null and void, and granted the application for certiorari. This judgment establishes important principles regarding the jurisdiction of courts in chieftaincy matters and the interpretation of what constitutes a cause or matter affecting chieftaincy under Ghanaian law.