[2008]DLCA6963 • October 23, 2008 • Court of Appeal
SETH AGYARKO SAKA vs. ERNEST ASIEDU OSAFO & 2 ORS
The appellant, Seth Agyarko Saka, challenged the interpretation of the phrase "my family" in Clauses 27 and 31 of the Will of the late Ebenezer Agyarko Saka. The Will bequeathed certain properties to the nephew, Dr. Ernest Asiedu Osafo, to hold in trust for "my family." The dispute arose over whether "my family" referred to the testator's nuclear family (including wife and children) or his maternal family under Akan custom. The appellants claimed the term meant the nuclear family, while respondents argued it referred to the maternal family as per Akan tradition.
read moreASARE KORANG, J.A.: This appeal turns on the interpretation of the phrase “my family” in clauses 27 and 31 of the Will of the late Ebenezer Agyarko Saka. In the court below, the plaintiffs/appellants [appellants for short] came by way of an originating summons for the determination of the following issues:— “1.Construction and interpretation of the phrase “my family” in the last Will of Ebenezer Agyarko Saka particularly:- Clauses 27 and 31. 2. Declaration of the Plaintiffs’ rights that the properties described in Clauses 27 and 31 belong to the Plaintiffs. 3. An order that the balance standing to the credit of the Testator’s Account as well as the Treasury Bills all lodged at Standard Bank, High Street, Accra, be paid to the plaintiffs” The 1st and 2nd Respondents referred to as Defendants in the court below are the executors of the Will of the deceased while the 3rd and 4th Respondents described s the Co-defendants are beneficiaries under the Will. The...