[1997]DLSC17827 • July 16, 1997 • Supreme Court •
ADWUBENG vs. DOMFEH
The plaintiff, occupant of the Mfrefuo stool of Kumasi, claimed title to a portion of Duasi land called 'Dendew', alleging ancestral grant and continuous possession. The defendant, occupant of the Kusease stool, counterclaimed title to the same land, relying on an alleged arbitration award and ancestral settlement by his forebears. The dispute involved competing claims over boundaries and ownership of the Duasi land, with the defendant asserting only farming rights for the plaintiff and absolute ownership for his stool.
read moreJUDGMENT JUDGMENT OF AMPIAH JSC. I have read the opinion of my brother Acquah JSC and I am in entire agreement with him. It is now trite learning that a person who goes to court to claim title to land assumes the onerous task of establishing the identity and extent of the land he claims. He does so by calling those who share common boundary with him on his land or, where it is not possible to call all or any of these boundary owners because they themselves lay adverse claim to portions of his land, by calling evidence of unrestricted exercise of overt acts of ownership on the land; which overt acts may include activities of persons who have farmed, built or done some other activities on the land. These acts may also include successful litigations taken by that person or his predecessors, or persons claiming through him, to protect or defend their interest in the land. This onus falls equally on a defendant who decides to counterclaim for title. In the instant case, I think, the...