HARRY ZAKOUR vs. JANET ANTWI [2015]DLCA8027

Date	2015-12-10
Suit No.	SUIT NO.: H1/86/2014
Citation No.	[2015]DLCA8027

OFOE J. A. (PRESIDING)

ADUAMA OSEI J. A.

WELBOURNE (MRS) J.A.

[2015]DLCA8027
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >HARRY ZAKOUR<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF
/ APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p>JANET ANTWI<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT / RESPONDENT)<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">

SUIT NO.: H1/86/2014&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; &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:
10TH DECEMBER, 2015<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">

OFOE
J. A. (PRESIDING), ADUAMA OSEI J. A., WELBOURNE (MRS) J.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <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">

<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 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>WELBOURNE (MRS), J.A.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>I
have read my brother’s lead judgment and I am in agreement with it but have a
few comments.<o:p></o:p>This
case is one of the myriad of cases bedeviling our land administration in this
country. Too often do we see cases of acquisition of land by the State by
executive Instruments, and those very lands being alienated by the very
families from whom the lands were acquired by the state. The reason usually
being attributed to this is non-payment of compensation or inadequate
compensation paid by the State to the families.<o:p></o:p>The
Plaintiff in this case acquired a parcel of land from the Lands Commission in
1993 with an area of 0-15 acres situate at Ofankor Residential Area in Accra.
The parcel of land was numbered Plot No 262 and was bounded on the North–East
by proposed road on the South-East by plot No 263 on the South-west by plot No
267 and on the North-West by a proposed road which said piece of land is more
particularly delineated on the site plan No L.D 9944/AC4915 attached thereon
shewn edged pink .<o:p></o:p>According
to the Plaintiff after he had erected concrete pillars and deposited aggregates
on the land, he realized after some time that the defendant had entered the
land and built a structure on the land. All verbal and written warnings to the
defendant to&nbsp; desist from the acts of
trespass failed thereby the plaintiff had to institute legal action for
declaration of title,&nbsp; recovery of
possession and injunction restraining the Defendant from entering the land in
dispute.<o:p></o:p>The Defendant
on the other hand pleaded that she purchased the land in dispute from the Nii
Abetia Family of Asofa, the allodial owners of the land and they prepared an
indenture dated 11th July 1998 and&nbsp;
executed between Alex Nii Ayitey Tetteh, the head and lawful
representative of the Nii Abetia Family with the consent of the principal
members of the said Nii Abetia family on one hand and the defendant on the
other hand. The defendant according to her evidence stated that she had been in
un-interrupted possession occupation since 1998 until 2005 that the plaintiff
confronted her that he was the owner of the land in dispute. The defendant
further alleged that the compulsory acquisition of the Ofankor/Asofa lands had
been resisted by the Abetia Family by way of petitions and in the law courts.
That the Executive Instrument had been set aside by a judgment dated 19th
July 2004 in a suit instituted by the elders of the Abetia Family against the Lands
Commission in the High Court.<o:p></o:p>After
a lengthy trial the trial judge made the following findings:<o:p></o:p>“The act therefore confers upon the court a discretionary
power to ratify and validate otherwise defective and or invalid documents of
title held and acted upon by innocent purchasers of land who have paid for the
and built upon it bonafides. It does that by refusing to order recovery of
possession of the land with the building from the purchaser and instead order
payment of compensation to the otherwise rightful owner under Section 1(2) of
the ACT. I am inclined from the facts and circumstances of this case to invoke
the Act to protect the present Defendant purchaser of the land who has taken a
lease of same from persons without the requisite capacity and built upon it and
is in fact in occupation thereof. The application of the Act would no doubt
affect any pronouncement on reliefs (a) and (c); for declaration of title and
perpetual injunction orders respectively against the Defendant, since the
Plaintiff would thereby be precluded from recovering possession under relief…<o:p></o:p>I accordingly enter judgment for the Plaintiff against
the Defendant for GH¢30,000.00 damages for trespass to the land in issue
(described as No. 262, Ofankor by the Plaintiff and No. 262, Asofa by the Defendant).
I decline to make orders for declaration of title, recovery of possession and
perpetual injunction against interference against the Defendant for the reason
of the application of the protection provided and adopted under Section 1(1) of
LAND DEVELOPMENT (PRPTECTION OF PURCHASERS) ACT, 1960 (ACT 2). The Plaintiff
shall recover costs of GH¢1,500.00 from the Defendant.<o:p></o:p>