REBECCA ANSONG vs. MAAME KOSHIWA AND ANOTHER [2015]DLHC8319

Date	2015-06-09
Suit No.	SUIT NO. HCT 22/96
Citation No.	[2015]DLHC8319

HIS LORDSHIP MR. JUSTICE F.G. KORBIEH J.A. (SITTING AS AN ADDITIONAL HIGH COURT JUDGE)

[2015]DLHC8319
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >REBECCA ANSONG<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>MAAME KOSHIWA AND ANOTHER<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[HIGH 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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SUIT NO. HCT 22/96&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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: 9TH MARCH, 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;
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HIS LORDSHIP MR. JUSTICE
F.G. KORBIEH J.A. (SITTING AS AN ADDITIONAL HIGH COURT JUDGE)<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;
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JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>The plaintiff herein sued
the defendants herein for four reliefs, namely<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
A
declaration that as the spouse of the legal tenant of House No. AD. 17B,
Community 5, Tema she was entitled to be recognized as the legal tenant of the
said house.<o:p></o:p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
An
order to the 2nd defendant to transfer the said house into the
plaintiff’s name.<o:p></o:p>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Perpetual
injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, task force, workmen,
assigns etc. from ejecting the plaintiff from the said house.<o:p></o:p>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Damages
for trespass.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In the accompanying
statement of claim, the plaintiff averred, inter alia, as follows: the house in
question was, at all material times, her matrimonial home; her husband, as the
legal tenant of the house, introduced (in writing) the 1st defendant
to the 2nd defendant as his caretaker as he was travelling to his
village; the 2nd&nbsp; defendant
was never to change tenancy into the name of the 1st defendant; the
plaintiff’s husband later travelled to Nigeria where he died and was buried;
the plaintiff returned to Tema in 1995 and found strangers in the house; these
strangers however subsequently left the house and gave her absolute possession
of the same; the plaintiff then informed the 2nd defendant that as
widow of the legal tenant she was entitled to be recognized by the 2nd
defendant as the legal tenant of the house; the 2nd defendant later
sent its task force to eject her from the house but plaintiff managed to
re-enter the house and is in actual possession of it; the 1st
defendant had to leave because of the hostility of the people living around the
house; the plaintiff will have nowhere to go with her children should she be
ejected again from the house; wherefore the plaintiff claimed as per her writ
of summons.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The 2nd
defendant filed a statement of defence in which it denied most of the material
allegations of fact made by the plaintiff. In addition, the 2nd
defendant averred that the plaintiff was not the spouse of Daniel Antwi but a divorcee.
The 2nd defendant also averred as follows: that the persons found by
the plaintiff in the house upon her return from the village were caretakers of
the 1st defendant, that its housing policy only allowed spouses
living in the rental unit at the time of the death of the legal tenant to be
assigned the unit, that Daniel Antwi had sub-let the house in breach of his
tenancy agreement with the 2nd defendant, that the tenancy agreement
between Daniel Antwi and the 2nd defendant was a personal contract
and upon the demise of the former, the contract automatically determined,
wherefore the plaintiff’s action ought to be dismissed.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In her statement of defence
(as amended), the 1st defendant admitted that Daniel Antwi had made
her caretaker of the house in dispute. She however denied most of the other
material allegations of fact made by the plaintiff in her statement of defence.
She also averred as follows: that she put her sister in possession of the house
when she herself travelled to her home-town, that this her sister came to
inform her that some people had forced their way into the house and put the
plaintiff in possession thereof, that she made a complaint to the 2nd
defendant who sent its task force to eject the plaintiff from t</main>