EMMANUEL VORGE vs. ALFRED AGYEMANG & ANOR

The plaintiff/appellant instituted an action claiming declaration of title to land, general damages for trespass, and perpetual injunction. The land was originally acquired by the plaintiff's late uncle from the Asere Stool in 1968, who built a house and fence. After the uncle's death in 1993, the defendant trespassed by demolishing the boundary wall and building a new one, dispossessing the plaintiff. The defendant's father shared a boundary with the uncle's land. The plaintiff, as successor to his uncle's estate, protested the trespass. The defendant counterclaimed ownership and damages. A third party, John Kwaku Quarshie, was joined as codefendant claiming to have purchased the land from the allodial owners after paying the defendant. The trial court dismissed both the plaintiff's claim and defendant's counterclaim for want of prosecution and ruled in favor of the codefendant with costs.

ARYEETEY, J.A. As far back as 15th December, 1994 the plaintiff/appellant instituted the instant action against the defendant claiming the following reliefs: (a) Declaration of title to land which is the subject matter of this suit, (b) General damages for trespass and (c) Perpetual injunction. According to the appellant, the background to this litigation is as follows: In 1968 his late uncle by name Joseph Kwami Vorgbe acquired the land in dispute from the Asere Stool. Between 1969 and 1971 he put up a residential apartment on the land and built a fence wall on the boundaries of the land. Just at about the same time that his uncle built his house the defendant's father whose land shared a common boundary with his uncle also engaged in the construction of his house. The late Joseph Kwami Vorgbe rented the house to the Ghana Police Service for residential purposes. At the end of the tenancy arrangement with the Police Service somewhere around the middle of 1980s the late Joseph Vorgbe ...