BENONIA OKANG vs. BENJAMIN T. SABAN & OR.

The plaintiff, Benonia Okang, claimed that the 1st defendant, Benjamin T. Saban, unlawfully constructed a building on an open space adjacent to her property, which was earmarked for road extension and part of her land reserved for a flower garden. She alleged that the 1st defendant's building blocked her access to the main road, interfered with her property rights and privacy, and was constructed without a building permit from the 2nd defendant, Ga East Municipal Assembly. The plaintiff sought declarations of unlawfulness, demolition orders, recovery of possession of trespassed land, injunctions, and damages. The defendants denied the claims, asserting ownership of the disputed land by the Odartey Sro family, lawful grant of land to the 1st defendant, and that the building complied with the approved planning scheme.

MARIAMA OWUSU, J.A.: On 7-5-2013, the High Court, Land Division Accra, dismissed plaintiff’s claims against defendants as not proved and awarded cost of GH¢1,000.00 against the plaintiff in favour of the 1st defendant. Dissatisfied with the decision of the court, the plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeal on the following grounds: a. The judgment is against the weight of evidence b. The trial Judge erred by deciding the case as though same was for declaration of title. c. The trial Judge failed to determine real issues in controversy. d. That the trial Judge erred importing extraneous matters into the decision. e. Additional grounds will be filed upon receipt of the record of appeal. The relief sought from the Court of Appeal is a reversal of the decision of the trial court or in the alternative to order a retrial of the suit. Before dealing with the arguments canvassed in support and against this appeal, I will give a brief background of the case. The plaintiff/appell...