[2016]DLCA7977 Login to Read Full Case <span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:#00B0F0">GEORGE OSEI KWAME, KWABENA AWORO ALSO KNOWN AS ERIC NANA AMANKWA AND OPANIN KWAME BOAHEN </span></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">(PLAINTIFFS/ APPELLANTS) </span></i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:#00B0F0">(SUBSTITUTED BY YAW DONKOR) ALL OF NNEREBEHI NEAR NKAWIE-ASH</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:red"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:#00B0F0">OSEI AHENKRO<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">(DEFENDANT/ RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">[COURT OF APPEAL, KUMASI]<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:107%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">SUIT NO.: H1/41/2016 DATE: 12<sup>TH</sup> APRIL, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">MATHEW APPIAH FOR APPELLANTS<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align:justify;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">WILLIAM KUSI FOR RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align:justify"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-style:italic">CORAM: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic">AYEBI J.A. (PRESIDING), TORKORNOO J. A., DOMAKYAAREH J. A.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;border-right:none; padding:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none; mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style:italic"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">TORKORNOO, J. A:</span></u></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">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 5<sup>th</sup> 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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">First, within the jurat, they said there is no record that anyone ‘<i>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</i>…’ They said that this makes the Will invalid<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">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. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">They therefore sought: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt; line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">a.<span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">A declaration that the Will of the late Opanin Kwabena Nyanteng dated 28<sup>th</sup> 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></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt; line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">b.<span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants whether by themselves, their servants or agents, personal representatives and all who claim title through them from exercising any rights under the said Will.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align:justify;text-indent:-18.0pt; line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">c.<span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:150%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-famil