REPUBLIC vs. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE, ACCRA; EX PARTE ADIO

This is an appeal from the refusal of the High Court, sitting at Accra, to grant certiorari to quash an order for the sale of a house for non-payment of general rates by virtue of paragraph 20 of Schedule VII to the Local Government Act, 1961 (Act 54). The history of the case may be summarised in the following chronological order: In April 1965, one G. K. Quami who was the owner of estate house No. B.174/8, Kaneshie, as lessee of the Ghana Housing Corporation, assigned his interest to the appellant, Winfried Barton Adio, with the consent of the lessors. At the time of the assignment, G. K. Quami had his name entered in the books or registers of the Accra-Tema City Council as the owner-occupier to whom all demand notices were to be sent. The name of G. K. Quami, notwithstanding the assignment, remained on the register without any rectification. The appellant claimed that in September 1965, he requested the Accra-Tema City Council by letter to enter his name as the new owner-occupier....