May 5, 2023
DISTRICT COURT
GHANA
CORAM
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JUDGMENT
PROLOGUE
The courts have been the cornerstone and beacon of justice from the annals of history, but
are reluctant to wade into disputes which extirpate and destroy cordial relationships
between parties, however where persons with close family ties remain adamant about
seeking recourse through the justice system, thereby causing a rift between them, the
courts are bound though with much disaffection to resolve the dispute between the
parties.
BACKGROUND AND FACTS
The case revolves around a burgeoning wrangle between two factions of a family over
the devised property, of the late Opanin Kwabena Agyei, the father of the Plaintiff, a wellaccomplished man of great repute who during his lifetime acquired a stout amount of
wealth. The background and facts of the case are that the Plaintiff mounted the present
action on behalf of himself and his siblings numbering twenty-seven to recover
possession of the subject matter of this dispute, a cocoa farm situate at Agyeikrom on
Abuom Stool Land, acquired by their late father Opanin Kwabena Agyei in exercise of
his rights as a royal/subject of the Abuom Stool, which the Plaintiff contends was gifted
to him and his siblings by his late father during his lifetime, but the Defendants through
subterfuge have maliciously taken over, under the pretext of being devised the cocoa
farm under a will purportedly made on 8th February, 1987, by the late father of the
Plaintiff, Opanin Kwabena Agyei.
The Plaintiff therefore on the 30th of April, 2018, issued a writ of summons claiming the
following reliefs:
a. Recovery of possession and declaration of ownership of all that piece of cocoa farm
situate at Agyeikrom on Abuom Stool Land bounded by the properties of Nana
Kokor (deceased) now in the possession of Brenya, Opanin Yaw Marfo (deceased)
, now in possession of Kwaku Marfo, Opanin Kwadwo Donkor (deceased) , now
in possession of Opanin Boakye, Opanin Kwaku Duah (deceased), Nana Atakyi
Mensah (deceased) and the Yaayaa streamlet .
b. An order directing the defendants to account for the proceeds derived from the
disputed cocoa farm from April, 2018 to date.
c. An order of injunction restraining the Defendants, their agents, assigns, workmen
etc. from interfering with the disputed cocoa farm
ISSUES: The germane issues for determination are:
i. whether the Plaintiff has the requisite capacity to institute the present action;
ii. whether or not the Defendants are estopped from laying adverse cl
AI Generated Summary
Her Worship Akua Oppong-Mensah resolved a long-running familial dispute concerning a cocoa farm at Agyeikrom on Abuom Stool Land. Acting for himself and twenty-seven siblings, the Plaintiff asserted that their late father, Opanin Kwabena Agyei, had made a valid customary gift of the farm to his children, with aseda and witnesses. The Defendants denied the claim and relied on a duly executed Last Will and Testament dated 8 February 1987, for which the High Court, Kumasi granted probate. Under the Will, the Seaso/Agyeikrom farm was partitioned between the children and the maternal family, as evidenced by a survey plan, and managed in part by Madam Abena Maaboa. After hearing two witnesses for the Plaintiff and reviewing the documentary exhibits, the court found the Plaintiff’s evidence inconsistent and insufficient, rejected the estoppel plea, held that the alleged customary gift was not proved, and confirmed the Will’s validity. Giving primacy to authentic documents over conflicting oral accounts, and applying the preponderance-of-probabilities standard, the court dismissed all claims and entered judgment for the Defendants, with no order as to costs.