March 14, 2019
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Court of Appeal, per Merley Wood J.A., affirmed the High Court’s judgment in favour of a religious organisation that had long worshipped on land at Christiansborg, Osu. The Plaintiff traced title to a 1963 conveyance from Madam Rebecca Opintan (sole surviving child and successor of the original donee, James Opintan Sawyer) to John Samuel Tsuni Adiaba, and a 1969 conveyance from Adiaba to the Plaintiff, later perfected by a Land Title Certificate in 2013. The Defendants, representatives of the Opintan Sawyer family, challenged the Plaintiff’s capacity and alleged fraud, summoned the District Pastor to the Osu Traditional Council claiming an expired lease, and involved the Osu Police Station. The Court held the Defendants failed to prove fraud beyond reasonable doubt, found Rebecca had capacity, preferred valid documentary evidence over oral assertions, emphasised the Plaintiff’s decades of possession and acts of ownership, applied laches and acquiescence against the Defendants, rejected nemo dat, and noted public notice of registration without objection. Costs of GH₵10,000 were awarded.
MERLEY WOOD J.A:
This is an appeal against the judgement of the High Court, Land Division delivered on 31st July 2017 in favour of the Plaintiff/Respondent.
The facts of the case leading to the filing of the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim on 5th October 2016 which was subsequently amended on 10th November 2016 as per the pleadings are that the Plaintiff/Respondent is a religious organisation while the Defendants/Appellants are the spokespersons and representatives of the Opintan Sawyer family. By a Deed of Conveyance dated 4th June 1969 made between John Samuel Tsuni Adiaba on the one part and the Plaintiff/Respondent, the subject matter of the suit was conveyed to the Plaintiff/Respondent. Its vendor, John Tsuni Adiaba, obtained the land from Rebecca Opintan in a Deed of Conveyance dated 2nd May 1963 and the Plaintiff/Respondent has been worshipping on the land ever since and has obtained a land title certificate. Due to the increase in its congregation, it started to expand the church building. However the Defendants/Appellant claiming to be the spokespersons and representative of the Opintan Sawyer family of Osu, summoned the District Pastor to the Osu Traditional Council claiming that the lease on the land which belongs to their family had expired and having failed to renew it, the Plaintiff/Respondent was liable to pay a fine before any negotiations for the renewal would be considered. The Plaintiff/Respondent wrote to the Osu Traditional Council tracing the history and its root of title to the land. The Defendants/Appellants then lodged a complaint of fraud at the Osu Police Station and the police purported to place an injunction on the land while the Defendants/Appellants threatened to disrupt all the activities of the Plaintiff/Respondent on the land if the Plaintiff did not cease its activities on the land as directed by the Police.
Consequently, the Plaintiff/Respondent sued the Defendants/Appellants for the following reliefs:
1. A declaration of title to all that piece or parcel of land in extent 0.06 hectare 90.15) of an acre more or less being parcel No.90 Block 7, section 0.26 situate at Christiansborg, Osu in the Greater Accra Region of the Republic of Ghana as delineated on registry Map No.033/026/1988 in the Land Title Registry, Victoriaborg, Accra.
2. Perpetual Injunction to restrain the Defendant, his family members and all those claiming interest whatever in the said land from interfering with the quiet enjoyment of the p