[1989]DLSC520 • July 11, 1989 • Supreme Court •
AKYEA-DJAMSON vs. DUAGBOR AND OTHERS
The appellant, Mr. Akyea-Djamson, a non-native of Fintey village in the Duffor paramountcy, purchased a disputed piece of land from the Asilevi family, who claimed ancestral settlement rights. The respondents, represented by the codefendant Aaron Kodey and his sons, claimed ownership through the Kodey family, asserting that the Asilevi family could not alienate land without the consent of the Kodey family elders. The appellant registered his title in 1970 and was in possession until 1973 when the respondents entered the land, prompting the suit for declaration of title and injunction.
read moreJUDGMENT OF TAYLOR J.S.C. This case involves very simple issues which are of recurring significance in our courts. And although it is a really straightforward case, it raises the usual problems and poses some questions which are of fundamental importance in the customary land law system of Ghana. To appreciate the nature of the problems and attempt to answer the questions posed, it is necessary to appraise the facts grounding the rival claims of the parties and in the process to identify the nature of the controversy which we have been called upon to resolve as a final appellate court of last resort. The appellant, Mr. Akyea-Djamson, who was the plaintiff in the circuit court, is not a native of Fintey, a village in the Duffor paramountcy. He however bought a piece of land, the subject matter of the dispute, from the Asilevi family which hails from Fintey. The Asilevi family led evidence that their “ancestors had settled on the land from time immemorial.” Apart from the ...