2019
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This Ghana Supreme Court case involves a decades-long land dispute over Tiame Awalime lands between the Peki and Tsito-Awudome communities. Togbe Gobo Darke XII sought to set aside part of the Supreme Court’s 30 March 1992 ruling in Republic v High Court, Accra; Ex Parte Darke XII and reinstate a 30 July 1979 Court of Appeal judgment, arguing that the dispute concerns family lands and that the Supreme Court exceeded its authority when, in certiorari, it referred the matter to the Stool Lands Boundary Settlement Commission and set aside earlier judgments. The Court held that a Supreme Court review decision on 17 November 1992 had already rejected the same arguments, thereby operating as res judicata. It reaffirmed that inherent jurisdiction cannot reopen final orders absent exceptional grounds and emphasized finality. The application was dismissed as incompetent and without merit.
The applicant herein Togbe Gobo Darke XII, Chief of Tsito Awudome filed a motion in this court on the 3rd of August 2018 against Togbe Ayim Mordey VI chief of Peki Avetile, praying this court for the following reliefs:
i) An order setting aside the part of the ruling of the Supreme Court dated 30th March 1992 in the suit intituled Republic v High Court, Accra and Another. Exparte Darke & others. That referred the suit therein to the Stool Lands Boundary Commission for settlement.
ii) An order reinstating the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No. 202/76 of 30th July 1979 intituled Togbe Ayim Darke IV V 1. Togbe Gobo Darke XI 2. Ntow Peniana
iii) Such other orders as the Supreme Court will consider fit to make.
Background
Litigation between the predecessors of the parties herein over parcels of land known as Tiame Awalime lands situate between Peki and Tsito-Awudome in the Volta Region dates back to 1952. The history of the suit is set out by both parties in their respective affidavits. Violence had erupted many a time between these two communities because of the dispute over the years and many lives have been lost. This situation no doubt had been an issue of grave national concern and resolving the dispute totally and timeously would have been a matter of public interest, however, the issue had remained protracted till now over 60 years.
Facts: The substantive suit has a much checked history, as much as possible I will briefly summarize the sequence of events that led to the application before us. An action in respect of the subject matter of litigation between the parties was first instituted by the chief of Peki Avetile, Togbe Ayim Darke IV representing some families of Peki Avetile at the Native Court Peki in 1952 against Togbe Gobo Darke XI of Tsito Awudome and one of his subjects Ntow Peniana. The suit was eventually decided by the High Court, Ho in November 1975 by Francois J in favour of the plaintiff. The defendants appealed, on 30th July 1979, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court decision.
In 1987 the Paramount Chief of Peki Traditional Area and Togbe Ayim Darke IV instituted a fresh action in the High Court Accra against Togbe Gobo Darke XI seeking a declaration that the judgments of the High Court and Court of Appeal referred to in the preceding paragraph above are null and void. The reason being that the dispute between the parties involves boundary between stool lands, as such b