[1989]DLCA584 • May 12, 1989 • Court of Appeal
EDAH vs. HUSSE
The plaintiff claimed to be the grandson and direct descendant of Hussey, asserting a better right to succeed to Hussey's ancestral property located at Avoeme-Aflao. The defendant, a descendant of a slave adopted into the Hussey family, claimed to have been appointed head of the family after the death of Agbagba, a son of Hussey, and thus vested with control over the ancestral property. The dispute centered on succession rights to the undistributed ancestral land, with the plaintiff asserting appointment as successor in 1955, while the defendant claimed appointment by family elders after Agbagba's death in 1961.
read moreJUDGMENT OF AMPIAH J.A. The plaintiff-respondent in the action claimed to be the grandson of one Hussey and therefore a direct descendant with a better right to succeed to Hussey’s properties. Accordingly he sued the defendant-appellant who was said to be a descendant of a slave who was adopted into the Hussey family, for: “(1) A declaration of title to all that piece or parcel of land situate at Avoeme-Aflao and bounded on one side by land belonging to Akligo on another side by a piece of land reported to belong to Adanbu Hussey and Pomeavor Hussey on another side by pieces of land belonging to Lawrence Agbagba Hussey and Gamade Hussey and on the last side by Lawrence Kudawu and Adorkor Muvlo. (2) Recovery of possession. (3) ¢1,000 damages for trespass. (4) An order of perpetual injunction.” The defendant who admitted being the descendant of a slave who had been adopted into the family, denied that the plaintiff had been appointed to succeed to the property in dis...