TOGBE ADONTSIRI VI VS ADDO MLOREE & ANOR

BARTELS-KODWO JA:-

INTRODUCTION

The parties herein are both claimants to a stool in the Tefle Traditional Area in Tefle, Volta Region. When the dispute was brought to the attention of the Fiaga (Paramount Chief Togbe Nakakpo Dugbaza VIII) of the Tefle Traditional Area, he issued a summons for the parties to be brought before his customary arbitration tribunal.

In his detailed ruling, the Fiaga noted that at custom, claimants to a stool do not speak for themselves in those proceedings because they do not install or enstool themselves as occupants of a stool. Instead, the elders/kingmakers who enstooled a claimant to a stool speak to the legitimacy of that claimant's claim to the stool. This is because those who install or enstool an occupant to a stool are better placed than even the occupant himself or herself to speak to the history and customary aspects of their claim to the stool.

Accordingly, both parties were represented by elders at the customary arbitration. Following the arbitration, awards were made in favor of the Defendants/Applicants/Respondents (hereinafter “the Respondents”) in the following terms;

“DIRECTIVES

1. Kwame Chartey Kumahlor is declared the Six (sic) (6th) Awafia of the Deh Clan of Tefle under the Stool name Awafia Adontsiri VI and must be recognized and treated as such.

2. Anybody, either from the Mlorfe Family or the Kudze Family or any other source, either married, chose by the stool or ordinarily chosen to ascend the Stool, should pass through the process of eating AHADZOGBOR to prove his innocence as to whether or not he has eaten garden egg “Agbitsa”.

3. The Head of the Deh Clan should come from the Kudze Gate/Family.

BACKGROUND

Dissatisfied with the award of the Fiaga’s tribunal, the Plaintiff/Respondent/Appellant (hereinafter referred to as the “Appellant”), first filed a petition with the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, withdrew that petition, and filed another petition at the National House of Chiefs.

The Appellant then instituted this case at the High Court seeking the following reliefs;

a. A declaration that in view of the fact that there was no voluntary submission by Plaintiff and the late Sylvanus Chartey Kumahlor (a.k.a. Togbe Adontsiri VI) to the said arbitration panel, the purported arbitral award is contrary to law and therefore void.

b. A further declaration that by reason of the fact that the purported award dated 15th June 2014 touches and concerns the Plaintiff’s occupancy of the Adontsiri Sto