STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION v. MANSAH

JUDGMENT OF AMISSAH J.A.

Amissah J.A. delivered the judgment of the court. The respondent, Afua Mansah, brought an action against the appellants, the State Insurance Corporation, after she had obtained judgment against one Isaiah Sackey, an insured of the appellants, claiming satisfaction by the appellants of the judgment debt due from the insured. The first case arose out of a fatal motor accident. Akosua Agyakomah was killed as a result of an accident caused by the negligent driving of the servant of Isaiah Sackey, the appellants' insured. Having. obtained the judgment against Isaiah Sackey and his servant, the respondent proceeded to sue the appellant in the High Court. The basis of her claim being section 10 of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act, 1958 (No. 42 of 1958), an Act which I shall for convenience refer to as the Third Party Act, and which enjoined insurance companies in certain circumstances to pay the judgment debts of their insured. The High Court, presided over by Francois J. gave judgment in the consequential proceedings on 9 December 1966, in favour of the respondent. It is from this latter judgment that the appellants have appealed to us here.

When confronted with the respondent's claim, the appellants admitted that they had insured Isaiah Sackey in respect of the vehicle involved in the fatal accident but they pleaded in their defence that "the policy issued to the said Isaiah Sackey only covered the vehicle when being used in the carriage of goods only and not passengers or giving lift." The appellants further gave notice that they will contend that, "in so far as the deceased was given a lift or was a passenger on the said vehicle, the policy did not cover any injury or death that was caused to her." That the risk which occasioned the death of the deceased was one not covered by the insurance policy issued by the appellants was an issue raised on the pleadings. The respondent, as plaintiff, gave evidence which in the event turned out to be the only evidence taken in the case. And on this issue the relevant evidence given by the respondent was as follows: "My sister was the late Afua Agyakomah alias Akosua Agyakomah. She was killed while being [p.1131] conveyed in a motor vehicle belonging to G. E. K. Ekuban. The vehicle No. SG 9448 was insured by the defendants."

How the deceased came to be conveyed on the vehicle was not stated. Whether she was being given a lift or was on the vehicle as a fare-paying passenger or wa