OKOE vs. HORHOMENO III AND ANOTHER [1987]DLSC794

Date	1987-07-28
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1987]DLSC794

SOWAH C.J.

FRANCOIS J.S.C.

ABBAN JA

WUAKU JA

AMUA-SEKYI J.A.

FRIMPONG BOADU FOR THE PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT.

NANA AKUFO-ADDO FOR THE DEFENDANT-RESPONDENTS

[1987]DLSC794
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >OKOE <o:p></o:p>vs. <o:p></o:p>HORHOMENO III AND ANOTHER <o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[1987-88] 1 GLR 434<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

DATE
28 JULY 1987<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

FRIMPONG BOADU FOR THE PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT. <o:p></o:p>

NANA AKUFO-ADDO FOR THE DEFENDANT-RESPONDENTS<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:
<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

SOWAH C.J., FRANCOIS J.S.C., ABBAN,
WUAKU AND AMUA-SEKYI JJ.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>JUDGMENT OF SOWAH C.J.<o:p></o:p>The
quarter of Asere in the Ga Traditional Area otherwise known as Ga Mashie had
been bedevilled with constitutional disputes for the past 200 years, and within
the last 100 years with land disputes which appear interminable. Azu Crabbe
C.J. said in Akramah II (Nii) v. Robertson (Consolidated) [1975] 2 G.L.R. 301
at 303, C.A. (full bench):<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;
margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:
31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">“I think
it is of the highest degree essential that the origin, nature and extent of
Mukose lands should be determined once and for all; otherwise, as experience in
this court has taught some of us, there will be no end to litigation about
these lands until legal ingenuity is completely exhausted.”<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Before
him Apaloo J.A. (as he then was) in Robertson v. Akramah II (Consolidated)
[1973] 1 G.L.R. 445 at 447, C.A. had predicted “that a dispute about its
ownership has come before the court and we suspect, unhappily, that this is not
likely to be the last.” I must confess that I share the views of my
predecessors, even now that the incumbent of the Asere stool is from the Nikoi
Olai family.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>A lot of
ink and paper and legal learning have been expended in dissecting and digesting
the judgment of the judicial committee of the Privy Council in Kotei v. Asere
Stool [1961] G.L.R. 492, P.C. This case has been popularly referred to as the
Adams case because Adams and two others were the original defendants in the
suit. The Asere stool was made a co-defendant at the instance of the Land
Court.<o:p></o:p>I must
say that no useful purpose will be served by further dissection of the Privy
Council judgment. I am satisfied with the approach of Azu Crabbe C.J. in his
supporting opinion to the judgment of Archer J.A. (as he then was) in the suit
Akramah II (Nii) v. Robertson (Consolidated) (supra) and will adopt his
judgment. I will however begin from the genesis of this matter, that is the
Adams case.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>On 25
October 1947 certain members of the Abbetsewe family in Asere purported to sell
a piece of land to James Allotey Quaye, Charles Okoe Aryee and Emmanuel Tettey
Adams for the sum of £200. The sale was contained in a conveyance which gave
the dimensions of the land sold and ended as “comprising an area of 903.15
which piece or parcel of land was more particularly described and delineated on
the plan attached to conveyance and edged pink.” On 4 December 1947 the
purchasers sold the whole of the land to Mousbah Captan, a Lebanese merchant,
for the sum of £2,000. The conveyance to Captan again recited particulars of
the land in similar terms as the earlier conveyance and ended with statement of
the acreage of land as 903.15 acres.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
Djorshie family considered the conduct of the parties constituted an
unwarranted trespass to its family property and mounted an action against the
trespassers in the Ga Native Court. By an order of the Supreme Court (Land
Division) the suit was transferred to that division.<o:p></o:p>In the
Land Court the plaintiff amended his claim to read “All that piece or parcel of
land containing an area of 903.15 acres known and situate at the north of Kaneshie
in a portion of land known and called Muko or Mukose near Abeka” and he then
proceeded to recite the boundaries as indicated in the plan attached to the
conveyance.<o:p></o:p>At the
hearing Mr. Bossman, counsel for the plaintiff, in his opening address stated:<o:p></o:p>