EDWARD AWUKU vs. BRYNE YAW ATTIGAH AND EMMANUEL KOFI TETTEH [2010]DLSC2559

Date	2010-06-29
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/13/2010
Citation No.	[2010]DLSC2559

BROBBEY JSC (PRESIDING)

ANSAH JSC

OWUSU (MS) JSC

YEBOAH JSC

ARYEETEY JSC

PHILLIP ADDISON FOR THE 3RD CLAIMANT /RESPONDENT /RESPONDENT.

NENE A. O. AMEGATCHER FOR THE 1ST CLAIMANT /APPELLANT /APPELLANT.

[2010]DLSC2559
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >EDWARD AWUKU<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>BRYNE YAW ATTIGAH AND EMMANUEL KOFI TETTEH <o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/13/2010&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 29TH
JUNE, 2010<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>PHILLIP
ADDISON FOR THE 3RD CLAIMANT /RESPONDENT /RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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NENE A.
O. AMEGATCHER FOR THE 1ST CLAIMANT /APPELLANT /APPELLANT.<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;
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BROBBEY JSC (PRESIDING), ANSAH JSC, OWUSU (MS) JSC,
YEBOAH JSC, ARYEETEY JSC&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="margin-bottom:10.0pt;
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solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>ANSAH, JSC:-<o:p></o:p>This is
an appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal, coram, E.K. Piesare
(presiding), S.K. Marful Sau and Mariama Owusu JJA, dated 13th March
2008, in which the court dismissed the appeal against the judgment by the High
Court which had set aside the judgment of the trial Land Title Tribunal.<o:p></o:p>It is
against this judgment that the present appeal has been brought to us on the
following grounds of appeal, namely that:<o:p></o:p>“i) The Court of Appeal misdirected itself and
caused a substantial miscarriage of justice when it held that the grant to the
appellant was null and void because the caretaker of Osu stool lands had no
authority to grant Osu stool land when the case of the Appellant was that the
caretaker in his position as an agent of the stool granted the land to
Appellant’s grantor which grant was ratified/endorsed concurrently with the
execution of the document by his principal the then Osu Mantse Nii Dowuona V.<o:p></o:p>ii) The Court of Appeal misdirected itself in
giving effect to the unregistered title of the Respondents when there was clear
evidence on record that the Appellant had a prior registered document of title.<o:p></o:p>iii) The Court of Appeal failed to take
recognizance of the legal effect of the fact that at the time of the purported
grant by the Osu Stool to the Respondent the Appellant, a subject of the stool
had been in effective occupation of the land and therefore there could be no
alienation of the land without his consent and concurrence.<o:p></o:p>iv) The Court of Appeal misdirected itself in
giving effect to the cancellation by the Land Title Registrar of the land title
certificate duly obtained by the Appellant prior to the reference of the
dispute to the Land Title Adjudicating Tribunal, when the enabling statute did
not give the Land Title Registrar power to do so suo motu.<o:p></o:p>v) Further grounds of appeal would be filed upon
the receipt of the Record of proceedings.”<o:p></o:p>None has
so far been filed, despite this intimation.<o:p></o:p>Before
delving into the merits of the appeal I have decided to give a resume of the
facts that culminated in the appeal. They were that following conflicting
claims by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd claimants to
the area in dispute, the Chief Registrar of Lands referred the case to the Land
Title Adjudicating Committee Tribunal, Accra, for adjudication under Sections
22 and 23 6 (b) of the Land Title Registry Law, PNDCL 152. On the evidence the
land in dispute was at Maamobi which was indisputably on Osu Stool lands. There
is no dispute by the parties about this fact.<o:p></o:p>The
claim of the first claimant was that his uncle Charles Gilbert Noi granted the
land to him in 1975. The uncle had himself obtained a grant of the land from
Nii Kpakpo Adokwei Saka, the care-taker of Maamobi lands. Charles Noi’s
conveyance was confirmed in 1966 by Nii Dowuona V the then Osu Manche. The 1st
claimant (appellant herein) claimed he leased the land to one Daniel Ofori in
1978 and an indenture was issued but the transaction did not materialize for
Daniel Ofori never went to occupy the land nor even paid for it. After this the
3rd claimant/appellant sought and obtained permission to park his
vehicle on the land.<o:p></o:p>The
second claimant based his claim of title to the land on the strength of a
conveyance from Nii Dowuona the Osu Manche, to his father, Emmanuel Yao Attigah,
who also conveyed his interest to the 2nd claimant by a conveyance
dated 16th November, 1973. During the construction of the Nima
Highway the Government compulsorily acquired a portion of his land for the
construction. By his claim he sought to recover the portion that was not covered
by the acquisition.<o:p></o:p>On the
part of the 3rd claimant/respondent, he said he entered the land in
1974 when it was vacant and has since then been in quiet and peaceful
occupation there</main>