[1999]DLSC617 • February 13, 1999 • Supreme Court •
KHOURY vs. MITCHUAL AND ANOTHER
The plaintiffs, surviving beneficiaries of the estate of the late Araba Nkestsiaba of Sekondi, leased premises to the defendants for 40 years starting 1 December 1941, with an advance payment of £1,000. A collateral mortgage deed assured defendants uninterrupted possession for 40 years. Subsequent court settlements and consent orders involved rights to rebuild and repair the premises and disputes over lease terms and possession after expiry of the lease term in 1981.
read moreJUDGMENT OF WUAKU J.S.C. On 25 February 1982 the plaintiff-respondents issued a writ against the defendant-appellants claiming possession of certain premises of which the defendant-appellants were lessees of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are the surviving beneficiaries of the estate of the late Araba Nkestsiaba of Sekondi. The plaintiffs were minors in 1941. On 19 December 1941 one Robert Mensah acting for and representing the plaintiffs together with two other adult beneficiaries, namely Adjuah Inframa and Effua Kobinaba, as lessors, executed a document leasing house No. 4/12 also known as house No. 1, Lagoon Road, Sekondi to the defendants as lessees at an annual rent of £25 for a term of 40 years. The lease was to take effect from 1 December 1941. The defendants-lessees paid to the lessor by way of an advance covering the whole period of the term of 40 years the total sum of £1,000. Because of the subsequent events, I reproduce clause 5 of the lessors’ covenant with the less...