[2021]DLSC10790 • July 7, 2021 • Supreme Court •
EBENEZER KWAKU, NUMO TEILA KWADWO AND PRINCE MART LIMITED vs. MANKRALO TETTEH OTIBU IV
The dispute concerns ownership and possession of a large tract of land measuring approximately 23,552.27 acres. The appellants claimed customary freehold interest over 14.06 square miles of the land, asserting uninterrupted possession and occupation for over 100 years, including establishing villages, farms, and granting customary leases. The respondent claimed allodial ownership of the entire land and challenged the appellants' rights, alleging unauthorized leasing and trespass. The appellants contended their possession was with permission and that they had acquired usufructuary rights, while the respondent sought to recover the land and invalidate the appellants' claims.
read moreAPPAU, JSC:- The Respondent in this appeal Mankralo Tetteh Otibu, sued the 1st Appellant herein Ebenezer Kwaku in the trial High Court, claiming his family’s title to a piece of land measuring 23,552.27 acres, which he said the 1st Appellant had trespassed onto. He sought further reliefs in the nature of damages for trespass and perpetual injunction. The 1st Appellant denied trespassing onto the land; a portion of which he claimed belonged to his family. He counter-claimed for title to that portion of the said land which is occupied by members of his family, damages for trespass, recovery of possession and perpetual injunction. Later, the 2nd Appellant joined in the action as Co-defendant in the trial High Court on the ground that he was the head of 1st Appellant’s family. He also counter-claimed for title to that same portion of the land for and on behalf of his family, order for refund of rent paid to the Respondent by various occupiers on the land, recovery of possession and pe...