NUMO NORTEY ADJEIFIO(SUBSTITUTED BY NII ADJEI SANKUMA) & 6 OTHERS vs. NII MATE TESA (SUBSTITUTED BY DANIEL MAKWEI MAMAH) & 5 OTHERS [2012]DLCA7940

NUMO NORTEY ADJEIFIO(SUBSTITUTED BY NII ADJEI SANKUMA) & 6 OTHERS vs. NII MATE T... [2012]DLCA7940

Date	2012-04-19
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO.: H1/9/2012
Citation No.	[2012]DLCA7940

AKAMBA J.A. (PRESIDING)

MARIAMA OWUSU J.A.

AYEBI J.A.

[2012]DLCA7940
																																						<div class="restriction-wrapper">
														<div class="container-lg">
															<div class="row">
																<div class="col-md-12 restricted-content">
																	<div class="restricted-content-img-wrapper">
																		<div class="lock-icon bounce-7">
																			<img class=""
																				src="https://www.dennislawgh.com/dl-assets/dl-images/lock-content.png"
																				alt="Subscription based content">
																		</div>
																	</div>
																	 
																		<a href="https://www.dennislawgh.com/login"
																		class="btn btn-primary btn-lg"
																		style="font-family: 'open sans'; text-transform: capitalize; border-radius: 8px"> 
																		Login to Read Full Case </a>
																	 
																	
																</div>
															</div>
														</div>
													</div>
													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >NUMO NORTEY ADJEIFIO(SUBSTITUTED BY NII ADJEI SANKUMA) &amp; 6 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>NII MATE TESA
(SUBSTITUTED BY DANIEL MAKWEI MAMAH) &amp; 5 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFFS/RESPONDENTS)<o:p></o:p>[COURT
OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

CIVIL
APPEAL NO.:&nbsp; H1/9/2012&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;DATE:
19TH APRIL, 2012<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:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

AKAMBA
J.A. (PRESIDING), MARIAMA OWUSU J.A., AYEBI J.A.<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;
padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>AYEBI J.A.<o:p></o:p>I am also of the
opinion that the appeal has no merit and should be dismissed on the grounds as
held in the lead judgment.&nbsp; My small
comment is to highlight the nature of the evidence led by the plaintiffs and 5th
defendant/appellant in particular in support of their rival claims.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The piece of land
on which the Teshie people settled when they left Labadi was said to have been
purchased from the people of Nungua.&nbsp;
This piece of land was not said to have extended to the railway line.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>There is evidence
that the land was shared amongst the quarters of Teshie during the reign of Nii
Ashitey Akomfra II as mantse.&nbsp; Numo Kofi
Anum, founder of Tesa is said to have hosted Nii Akomfra II when he stopped
over on his way to be installed a mantse.&nbsp;
If that were so, then Tesa was in existence before the Teshie lands were
shared amongst the quarters.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In any case this
evidence of the founding of Tesa on the one hand and the founding of Teshie and
the sharing of the land amongst the quarters on the other, are events which
took place over a century or more ago.&nbsp;
These matters were handed to the present generation as history and thus
qualify as traditional evidence.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The plaintiffs
and defendants/appellants claim a common relief which is declaration of title
to the disputed land.&nbsp; In Ebu vrs Ababio
[1957] 2 WALR 55, the view is held that although traditional evidence has a
part to play in an action for declaration of title to land, there are cases in
which a party can succeed even if he fails to obtain a finding in his favour on
the traditional evidence.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>I do not find the
evidence of the plaintiffs/respondents in support of their claim especially on
their root of title having been disproved or assailed in any way by the 5th
defendant/appellant in the instant case.&nbsp;
But should that be the case, the best way to resolve the conflict is to
test the traditional history by reference to facts in recent years established
by the evidence and see which of the two histories is the most probable – see Adjeibi-Kojo
vrs Bonsie [1957] 3 WALR 257, SC explained in Adjei vrs Acquah
&nbsp;[1991] 1 GLR 13, SC.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Apart from the
unchallenged evidence of the origin of the name “Tesa” narrated by the
plaintiffs, only descendants of Numo Akofi Anum have settled on the land ever
since, to the exclusion of any other family from Kle Musum quarter.&nbsp; The headman of Tesa was also a descendant of
Numa Kofi Anum.&nbsp; They farm and rear
animals on the land.&nbsp; Over and above,
plaintiffs have made grants of portions of the land to people who are living on
it at present.&nbsp; The 5th
defendant/appellant admitted knowledge of all these acts of control and
ownership of the plaintiffs but acquiesced in it until the trespass by the 2nd
defendant as a lessee of 1st defendant/respondent.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>