ASIAMA AND OTHERS vs. ADJABENG AND OTHERS

Anin J.A. delivered the judgment of the court. The plaintiffs, members of a land syndicate, instituted this action in the Accra High Court for a declaration of title to a tract of land known as Akwamu Kotoku land situate at Worobong near Begoro. They also claimed recovery of possession of the area trespassed upon, damages for trespass, and injunction against the defendants. The plaintiffs’ case, as appearing from the statement of claim, is that, as members of a land syndicate, they purchased the land in 1924 from the Begoro stool during the reign of the late Nana Twum Antwi. They entered into possession after the alleged purchase and cultivated cocoa and food crops on the land. Later, between the years 1928 and 1929, the government acquired the land as part of a forest reserve, and they were prohibited from entering the reserve. During the ensuing inquiry conducted by the Reserve Settlement Commissioner, Mr. W. H. Beeton, in 1935 (hereinafter called the “Beeton inquiry” or “...