GEORGE KYEREMEH vs. KWABENA OBENG [2012]DLCA3151

Date	2012-06-01
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO: HI/18/2011
Citation No.	[2012]DLCA3151

JUSTICE MARIAMA OWUSU JA [PRESIDING]

JUSTICE FRANCIS G KORBIEH JA

JUSTICE IRENE C DANQUAH JA

[2012]DLCA3151
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GEORGE KYEREMEH<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>KWABENA OBENG<o:p></o:p>[COURT
OF APPEAL, KUMASI]<o:p></o:p>CIVIL APPEAL NO:
HI/18/2011&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; DATE: 1ST JUNE 2012<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>

<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>JUSTICE
MARIAMA OWUSU&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; JA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; [PRESIDING], JUSTICE FRANCIS G KORBIEH
JA, JUSTICE IRENE C DANQUAH JA<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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</div>IRENE
C DANQUAH JA<o:p></o:p>On 24th
September 2003 the Plaintiff applied to the District Magistrate Court “B”
Sunyani for a Writ of Summons to be issued against the Defendant for the
following claims:<o:p></o:p>a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Declaration of title of building Plot number
104A Block G at Penkwasi, Sunyani, is the property of the Plaintiff.<o:p></o:p>b.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Recovery of possession of the said
building plot.<o:p></o:p>c.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General damages against the Defendant
for destroying the one room block put up by the Plaintiff.”<o:p></o:p>The case of the Plaintiff
is that he applied to the Lands Commission Secretariat at Sunyani for a
building plot.&nbsp; The Commission opened a
file for him in respect of plot number 104A Blk G, Sector 3 Penkwasi.&nbsp; The Commission through one of its officers sent
him to the plot for inspection and asked him to pay an amount of ¢50,000.00 upon
inspection of the plot.&nbsp; Upon payment of
the said amount, the Commission issued him with a receipt number LCS 197865 of
4/9/2003.&nbsp; On the day of the inspection
he caused pillars to be erected to demarcate the boundaries of the plot after
which he started developing the plot by putting up a single room on it.&nbsp; In the course of the development, the
Defendant laid adverse claim to the said plot.&nbsp;
He later received a letter from the office of the Town &amp; Country
Planning Department of the Sunyani District Assembly dated 29th
June, 2001 which purported that he was illegally developing Plot number 104 Blk
G, Sector 3, Penkwasi although the plot he was developing was numbered 104A.&nbsp; A first meeting scheduled by the
Officer-In-Charge of the Town &amp; Country Planning to meet the two parties
was rescheduled for a week’s time but before the week, the Defendant pulled
down the Plaintiff’s structure. The Defendant refused to meet with the Plaintiff
when the Lands Commission arranged for the parties for an amicable settlement;
hence the action.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The Defendant resisted the
action by filing a Statement of Defence.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The case of the Defendant is that the disputed plot forms part of his
family’s farmland which they have farmed for generations.&nbsp;&nbsp; The farm fell into the main Sunyani Township
layout and was therefore demarcated as building plots.&nbsp; The Defendant’s family applied for a part of
the land so demarcated since it was their farmland.&nbsp; They were allocated nine (9) plots including
the plot in dispute.&nbsp; Somewhere in 2001
the Defendant saw that the Plaintiff has entered the plot and was laying
adverse claim to it.&nbsp; The Defendant
therefore reported the Plaintiff’s conduct to the Lands Commission Secretariat,
Sunyani which referred the matter to the Town &amp; Country Planning Department
for investigation.&nbsp; Both parties were
invited by the Town &amp; Country Planning Department whose investigation
established that the plot had already been allocated to the Defendant and
therefore warned the Plaintiff not to set foot on the plot again.&nbsp; Later when the Plaintiff observed that most
of the officers at the Lands Commission Secretariat including the Regional Lands
Officer had been transferred from Sunyani, he cunningly went to the new
Regional Lands Officer and paid an inspection fee of ¢50,000.00.&nbsp; When the new Regional Lands Officer later
detected that the plot in dispute had already been allocated to the Defendant,
he invited the parties so that a new plot could be allocated to the
Plaintiff.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>He averred that he had put
up a chamber and a hall on the plot but it is not true that the Plaintiff has
put up any structure on the plot.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>At the trial, the
Plaintiff testified without calling any witness.&nbsp; The Defendant after his testimony called two
other witnesses.&nbsp; In its judgment, the
District Court held that the Plaintiffs documents tendered and relied on at the
trial were not supportive of his title to the land and therefore dismissed the
Plaintiffs claim and all the reliefs sought as misconceived.&nbsp; The District Magistrate further ordered the
lands Commission to allocate to the Plaintiff another plot provided he
satisfied all requirements including payment for the plot so allocated.&nbsp; The Plai</main>