ASIAMA AND OTHERS vs. ADJABENG AND OTHERS

The plaintiffs, as members of a land syndicate, sued in the Accra High Court for declaration of title to Akwamu Kotoku land at Worobong near Begoro, recovery of possession, damages for trespass, and injunction. They alleged that they purchased the land from the Begoro stool in 1924, entered into possession, cultivated it, and that their title was later confirmed during the Beeton forest reserve inquiry and reflected in Governor’s Order No. 17 of 1936. They further claimed that after the Cooke inquiry in 1952–53 they re-entered the land, but the defendants, who were subjects of the Begoro stool, repeatedly trespassed. The defendants denied any completed sale, contended that only negotiations had occurred before the land was brought within a proposed forest reserve, asserted their own possession and customary rights as subjects of the stool, and relied additionally on estoppel and the Farm Lands Protection Act, 1962 (Act 107). Portion of judgment: opening paragraphs beginning, “The plaintiffs, members of a land syndicate, instituted this action…” through the pleadings and evidence summary.

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 “...