April 23, 1997
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This Ghana Supreme Court decision resolves a contest over stool land at Apowa involving West African Enterprises Ltd (WAEL), Western Hardwood Enterprises Ltd (WHEL), and the Apowa stool. Takoradi Brewery Ltd (TBL) obtained a 1968 lease from the Apowa stool; WAEL later acquired TBLs interest via a 1975 court auction and occupied the land, paying rents and maintaining buildings and machinery. In 1984, the Apowa stool purported to re-enter and regrant the land to WHEL, who displaced WAEL. The High Court treated Exhibit B (the TBL lease) as ineffective for non-registration; the Court of Appeal reversed, emphasizing admissions and statutory notice. The Supreme Court, per Aikins JSC with concurrences by Bamford-Addo, Charles Hayfron-Benjamin, Adjabeng, and Amuah JJSC, held that ministerial concurrence under Act 123 need not precede disposition and was present; re-entry under NRCD 175 requires notice and court action; and registration confers no indefeasible title. The appeals by WHEL and the Apowa stool were dismissed, with injunction and damages for trespass affirmed.
Aikins JSC. The land in dispute was leased to Takoradi Brewery Ltd by the Apowa stool in 1968 for its business. Later Takoradi Brewery Ltd (TBL) became indebted to one Leroy Francis who sued TBL in the High Court and obtained judgment against TBL. The property of the company was attached for sale when it failed to pay the judgment debt. The property was purchased by the plaintiff company, West African Enterprises Ltd (W AEL) at a [pg 649] public auction organised by the court, and a certificate of purchase dated 29 July 1975 was issued to WAEL (exhibit A) accordingly.
When W AEL went into possession of the land, they said they took possession of the TBL buildings on the land made up of three buildings, a steam boiler, filtration plant, stainless tanks, 40 head filling machines and a water treatment plant. They said they cultivated sorghum on the land for brewing beer, and established a new company, Fano Brewery and registered it for the manufacture of beer. There was a delay in the manufacture of the beer, they said, because of the political upheavals in the country at the material time. Any time a licence for the manufacture of beer was obtained there would be a political upheaval and they were compelled to start the process all over again.
According to W AEL, the company was in occupation of the land from 1969 until 1986 when their workers were then driven away from the land by the first defendant company, Western Hardwood Enterprises Ltd (WHEL), who took possession of the land together with the buildings thereon. W AEL testified that they continued to pay rents as was obtained under the lease of Takoradi Brewery Ltd, and that the rents were accepted by the Lands Department as the administrators of stool lands. Further that before WHEL entered the land and drove away the W AEL workers, W AEL was not served with any notice of breach of covenant in the agreement (exhibit B).
WHEL on the other hand say that the disputed land was leased to them in August 1984 by the second defendant Ohene of Apowa (the Apowa stool) to enable them construct a sawmill. They later got the lease dated 2 August 1984 registered. On entering the land they only, found some old abandoned structures like sheds and houses. There were no farms on the land, but the watchmen on the land had planted cassava on it. They said they never destroyed any machinery belonging to W AEL but on entering the land they saw old machines which were scraps and which they put in a room under