GEORGE OSEI KWAME, KWABENA AWORO AND OPANIN KWAME BOAHEN vs. OSEI AHENKRO [2016]DLCA4812

Date	2016-04-12
Suit No.	SUIT NO: H1/41/2016
Citation No.	[2016]DLCA4812

AYEBI J.A. (PRESIDING)

TORKORNOO J. A.

DOMAKYAAREH J. A.

MATHEW APPIAH FOR APPELLANTS

WILLIAM KUSI FOR RESPONDENT

[2016]DLCA4812
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GEORGE OSEI
KWAME, KWABENA AWORO AND OPANIN KWAME BOAHEN <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;(PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>OSEI AHENKRO<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;(DEFENDANT/ RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, KUMASI]<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><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: H1/41/2016&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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:
12TH APRIL, 2016<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MATHEW
APPIAH FOR APPELLANTS<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

WILLIAM
KUSI FOR RESPONDENT <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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AYEBI
J.A. (PRESIDING), TORKORNOO J. A., DOMAKYAAREH 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;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>TORKORNOO,
J. A:<o:p></o:p>There are two strands of complaints in
this appeal. That the learned trial judge failed to hear the parties before
entering a ruling that dismissed the suit, and that he wrongly evaluated the
relevant document which was a Will and found it valid, when it lacked certain
essential features of a Will executed by an illiterate. <o:p></o:p>The plaintiff appellants, who describe
themselves as beneficiaries under the Will of Opanin Kwabena Nyanteng sued the
executors named in his Will read after his demise. This was on 5th
October 2009. The case of the plaintiffs was succinctly spelt out in their
Statement of claim. They said that although the Will contained a jurat and a
certificate of the counsel who prepared it, the jurat and certificate did not
have required features and this invalidated the Will. <o:p></o:p>First, within the jurat, they said
there is no record that anyone ‘read,
explained and interpreted the contents of the will to the late Opanin Kwabena
Nyanteng in a language he understood when he, purported to thumbprint it…’
They said that this makes the Will invalid<o:p></o:p>Within the certificate of the lawyer,
there is no record of the language that the lawyer used to interpret the Will
and they said this fails to provide vital information on how the lawyer
interpreted the Will to the Testator.&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>They therefore sought: <o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;">a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
A
declaration that the Will of the late Opanin Kwabena Nyanteng dated 28th
April, 2004 is invalid as nobody read, explained and interpreted the contents
of the Will to the deceased in the language he understood before he purported
to thumbprint it notwithstanding the fact that a jurat was provided for in the
Will.<o:p></o:p>