MENSAH vs. COFIE

On 1 June 1967, the plaintiff was granted a lease of a plot of land described as plot No. 25, Zoti Residential Area, Korle Gonno, Accra by the Government of Ghana for a term of 99 years. Under the lease, he was required to develop the land within two years of taking possession. Although the lease instrument itself (exhibit A) was executed on 2 February 1973, the plaintiff took possession of the plot and started paying rent. On 13 July 1973, the plaintiff received a letter from the regional lands officer threatening re-entry of the land. The plaintiff petitioned the government about the threat and explained why the land had not been developed. In the interim, the government had re-entered and granted the plot by including it in a larger plot to the defendant who started development on the plot. It would appear that the plaintiffs petition was rejected even though the government continued to demand rent from the plaintiff for the plot. The evidence is that the defendant who had in the i...