[1960]DLSC287 • November 28, 1960 • Supreme Court •
SERWAH vs. KESSE
The appellant contested the ownership of certain farms claimed by the respondent's family (Kua family). The dispute centered on whether the farms were stool properties or private family property. The respondent claimed the farms as family property entitled to rehabilitation grants, while the appellant asserted they were stool properties attached to the office of the Queenmother of New Juaben.
read moreJUDGMENT OF VAN LARE J.S.C. Van Lare J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. (His lordship reviewed the findings of fact made by the trial judge and continued): On the evidence as a whole the appellant does not appear to have any answer to the strong case made by the respondent nor has she put forward for consideration any case in opposition to that made by the respondent. On the other hand from the evidence of the appellant and her witnesses one is bound to be led to the conclusion that the disputed farms are not stool properties nor could they possibly be attached to the office as alleged. There is no wonder therefore in my view for the trial judge’s conclusion that the disputed farms belong to the respondent’s family—Kua family. This decision is in accordance with the principle of our customary law that among the Akans the immediate beneficial interest in a woman’s self-acquired property descends to her children and their children—children’s children meaning the c...