ALICE O. MENSAH vs. JOSEPH K. MANU [2012]DLCA3059

Date	2012-06-28
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. H1/45/2012
Citation No.	[2012]DLCA3059

MARIAMA OWUSU (MISS) J.A. (PRESIDING)

F.G. KORBIEH J.A.

IRENE C. DANQUAH (MS.) J.A.

JENNIFER DJANBEA ASARE FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT

OBENG-MANU JNR. FOR PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT.

[2012]DLCA3059
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ALICE O. MENSAH<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>JOSEPH K. MANU<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, KUMASI]<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. H1/45/2012&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; &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; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATED: 28THJUNE, 2012<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>JENNIFER
DJANBEA ASARE FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
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JNR. FOR PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>MARIAMA OWUSU (MISS) J.A. (PRESIDING),
F.G. KORBIEH J.A., IRENE C. DANQUAH (MS.) J.A.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>F.G. KORBIEH, J.A.<o:p></o:p>The brief facts of the case leading to
this appeal are as follows: the plaintiff’s case, as presented to the trial
court, was that he went to Germany in 1977 to seek greener pastures. Whilst
there he met the defendant in 1980 and struck an amorous relationship with her.
One year after they met, the two of them jointly bought a corn mill which they
shipped to Ghana. Later on, in 1985, the couple married under customary law.They
also sold the corn mill and used the proceeds to buy a plot on which they later
erected a house. The plot was initially purchased from one Gladys Anin who had
also bought it from the chief of Atonsu. The plaintiff and the defendant
however went back to the chief of Atonsu for a fresh allocation note which they
agreed should be prepared in the name of the defendant which was done. They
also started a polythene bag business with the proceeds of their social
security contributions which they earned whilst working with a company in
Germany. These social security contributions had been collected by the
defendant and used to buy fridges and deep freezers in Germany which had been
sold in Ghana and the money used to start the business. The profits realized
from the polythene bag business were used to fund the erection of the house on
the plot they had jointly acquired. When the house got to the lintel level, the
polythene bag business became less lucrative than before and so the plaintiff took
off to Libya. Whilst in Libya the plaintiff financed the trip of the defendant
to join him there. Things did not prove very good in Libya either so the
plaintiff went on to Japan and again funded the defendant’s journey to Japan to
join him there. The defendant fell ill shortly after her arrival in Japan and
so could not work for over a year and half. During the period of the
defendant’s illness the plaintiff was remitting money to the defendant’s son
called AwuahBrobbey Jackson to continue to build the house and subsequently
continued doing the same even when the defendant returned to Ghana to attend
her sister’s funeral and further up to the point when the paneling was done.
The defendant’s afore-mentioned son wrote letters to inform the plaintiff of
the progress of work on the house. In 1999 the plaintiff returned to Ghana and
went to live in the house with the defendant. But since 2002 the defendant had
been laying an adverse claim to the house as her sole property and had
attempted on several occasions to eject him from the house. The plaintiff therefore
sued the defendant in the High Court, Kumasi seeking a declaration that:<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:35.25pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;
text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo1">(a)&nbsp;&nbsp;
House
No. 7, Plot M at AtonsuBokro, Kumasi which is in the name of the defendant is
the joint property of the parties.<o:p></o:p>(b)&nbsp;&nbsp;
The
plaintiff is entitled half the share of the said property.<o:p></o:p>(c)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The
defendant holds the plaintiff’s share of the property in trust.<o:p></o:p>(d)