DZEFI vs ABLORLOR VI [2000]DLCA125

Date	2000-10-26
Suit No.
Citation No.	[2000]DLCA125

BENIN JA

TWUMASI JA

ARYEETEY JA

AMESIMEKU FOR PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT.

NUTIFAFA KUENYEHIA FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

[2000]DLCA125
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">DZEFI<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">ABLORLOR VI<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[1999-2000] 2 GLR 101<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid black 1.0pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:right;
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padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 1.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">Date: 26 OCTOBER 2000<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:AMESIMEKU FOR
PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT.NUTIFAFA
KUENYEHIA FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________CORAM:BENIN, TWUMASI
AND ARYEETEY JJA___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>Benin JA. <o:p></o:p>This appeal raises very interesting customary law questions some
of which unfortunately the trial court failed to appreciate. These questions
are:<o:p></o:p>(1) By Ewe customary land law, who are the rightful persons to
alienate land owned jointly by two or more distinct families?<o:p></o:p>(2) What is the effect on any such alienation that is not made by
all the appropriate or rightful persons?<o:p></o:p>(3) Can any one family sue without reference to the other if there
is wrongful alienation and recover the land for his family only?<o:p></o:p>Let me recount the facts of this case at this stage. The defendant
acquired a piece of land to build on from the Amoah family of Kpando Aloi. When
she started building operations on the land, she was challenged by the Ablorlor
family (the plaintiff’s family) which claimed ownership of a larger tract of
land of which the land in dispute formed a part. The defendant resisted the
plaintiff’s claim and continued to build; hence the action by the plaintiff
before the Hohoe Circuit Court. He claimed these reliefs:<o:p></o:p>(1) Declaration of title to all that piece or parcel of land at
Kpando Aloi commonly known and called Nyametso land.<o:p></o:p>(2) General damages for trespass.<o:p></o:p>(3) Recovery of possession. <o:p></o:p>(4) Perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, her agents
and/or servants and all claiming through her from entering the land in dispute
or in any way interfering with the same.<o:p></o:p>In the statement of claim the plaintiff claimed to be suing for
himself, as the head of and for the Ablorlor family. He traced the root of his
family’s title to the land which he averred his ancestors acquired by
settlement. He averred his family has been exercising rights of ownership over
the disputed land, including granting a portion thereof to the Government of
Ghana for a housing project.<o:p></o:p>The defendant averred that title to the larger tract of land had
been determined in litigation in 1962, and pleaded estoppel against the
plaintiff. She averred also that she acquired the land lawfully from the Amoah
and Ntumy families of Kpando.<o:p></o:p>Hence, a key issue that the trial court was called upon to decide
was the ownership of the land. Was it owned by the plaintiff’s family only, or
by plaintiff’s family in conjunction with another family, or by some other
family or families to the exclusion of the plaintiff’s family? Another issue
was which family or families gave the land to the defendant? On these issues
the trial court made these relevant findings of fact: “(a) the land belongs to
three families (see exhibits 2 and 3), namely Ablorlor, Kodje, and Tengkpo; (b)
it was sold to the defendant by one of them.” These findings are supported by
the evidence on record.<o:p></o:p>