WIAFE v. KOM

Justice Osei-Hwere dismissed the appeal by the plaintiff who sought ¢52.50 as the balance of a ¢90.00 loan evidenced by exhibit A, a promissory note prepared by J. C. Baidoo. The defendant, an illiterate, admitted the loan but maintained the creditor was Kwadwo Aboagye, the plaintiff’s grandfather, and proved that he paid the remaining sums to Aboagye along with court fees. The court held that, under section 4(1) of the Illiterates’ Protection Ordinance, the party relying on a document executed by an illiterate must prove it was read and explained; the plaintiff failed to call the author of exhibit A, rendering it without probative value. The court also tempered implied admission rules in light of the defendant’s illiteracy, declined to call the writer sua sponte, and affirmed the lower court’s costs as proportionate to the proceedings. The appeal was dismissed, with ¢50.00 costs to the defendant.