ROLAND KOFI DWAMENA vs. RICHARD NORTEY OTOO, THE REGIONAL LANDS OFFICER [2017]DLCA5100

Date	2017-06-01
Suit No.	SUIT NO. HI/16/2017
Citation No.	[2017]DLCA5100

V. D. OFOE J.A (PRESIDING)

IRENE CHARITY LARBI (MRS) J.A

CECILIA SOWAH (MRS) J.A

MR. NARH FOR APPELLANT (1ST)

MR. RICHARD ODUM FOR RESPONDENT

[2017]DLCA5100
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ROLAND KOFI DWAMENA<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>RICHARD NORTEY OTOO, THE REGIONAL LANDS OFFICER<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS)<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:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MR. NARH FOR APPELLANT (1ST)<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">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
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solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">MR.
RICHARD ODUM FOR RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>V. D. OFOE J.A (PRESIDING), IRENE CHARITY LARBI (MRS) J.A,
CECILIA SOWAH (MRS) J.A<o:p></o: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 0in 1.0pt 0in">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>OFOE, J.A:<o:p></o:p>Plaintiff
claims against the defendant a declaration of title to land he described as
follows:<o:p></o:p>“a.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A declaration of title to all that
piece&nbsp; or parcel of land&nbsp; with building&nbsp;
thereon containing an approximate area of 0.35 acre (o.14 hectare)
situate at Osu-Accra and bounded on the North-East by a road measuring 187.4
feet more or less on the North-West by&nbsp;
stool land measuring 96.8 feet more or less on the South-East by Osu
stool land&nbsp; measuring 192.9 and 71.3 feet
more&nbsp; or less respectively or&nbsp; and on the South-East by Osu stool land
measuring 70.6 feet and 30.9 feet more or less which piece or parcel of land is
more particularly described&nbsp; in Lease
document&nbsp; dated 20th
November2009 indexed at the Lands Commission as No. AR 1206/2010 and being
processed on Lands Commission file No. 32000/243/2010.<o:p></o:p>b.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An order directed at the Regional Lands
Officer to delete from its records any transactions in the names of 1st
and 2nd Defendants to enable the Lands Commission process his document
currently pending with the Lands Commission”.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Before
I proceed let me straighten up the records on the parties in this suit. The
original defendants were Edward Kabu Otoo and Richard Nortey Otoo as 1st
defendant and 2nd defendants respectively. The plaintiff who sued
them did not know that Edward Kabu Otto had died as far back as 1944. When this
came to the knowledge of the court he was struck out as a party and Richard
Nortey Otoo became the 1st defendant. <o:p></o:p>The
case of the plaintiff. He claims he bought the disputed land from the Osu stool
in 1983 and started building thereon the same year. He is firm in his evidence
that when he bought the land the grantors asked him to build while they
prepared for him the deed of conveyance. He built 4 bed room house on the land
and has been in occupation since 1983. The stool gave him the indenture in
2009. It was subsequently when he sought to register the land that it was
brought to his attention that the land was registered in the name of Edward
Kabu, the 1st defendant’s father as far back as 1940. From 1983 when
he built the house to the date he visited the Lands Commission and sought to
register the land, plaintiff admitted, was about 20 years. It was clear in his
evidence that it was when he went to the Lands omission to register the land
that he was confronted with the name of Edward Kabu Otoo as proprietor of this
land. As to the state of the land before he bought and built on it plaintiff
maintained that it was bare land. He did not know and never met the defendants
until he caused a publication of the writ of summons and statement of claim to
be served on them by a courts order by substituted service. This publication
was made on the 30th of August 2012.<o:p></o:p>He
called James Buckman who testified that he is a draughtsman and was the one who
supervised the building of plaintiff’s land till completion. He did this in
1983 when the land was bare. There was no refuse dump on the land and he did
not see a trotro station also on this land as contended by the 1st
defendant.<o:p></o:p>The
defendant’s case: That the land was registered in the name of Kabu Otoo, his
grandfather in 1940 after he had acquired it from the Osu stool in 1939.
According to the 1st defendant, Richard Otoo, he started registration
of this land which was bare in 1992, in response to the Land Title Registration
Law and currently he has a yellow card indicating he is indeed processing the
registration of the land to acquire a Title Certificate. It was his father who
sold the eastern side of the land to the Gyan family of Akropong.&nbsp; The adjoining land was occupied by his
relatives.&nbsp; He testified that this
disputed land was being used as a dumping ground and later was used by
commercial drivers as their station. He was very firm in his denial therefore
that the plaintiff had any land on the disputed plot as at 1983. The only
period he was away from Osu was after he retired from the Bank of Ghana and had
to go to the Brong Ahafo region to farm and this was in 2006 but he returned in
2009. And it was then that he saw building being constructed on the land.&nbsp; How come he did not know of any construction
on the land when he had relatives abutting the land, 1st defendant
said the relatives said they thought he had sold the land. The workers on the
site will also not tell him who was bui</main>