DANIEL ASHIE KOTEI AND ANOTHER vs. NII AMARKAI III [2017]DLHC3313

Date	2017-06-13
Suit No.	SUIT NO: GJ597/2017
Citation No.	[2017]DLHC3313

ERIC K. BAFFOUR ESQ. JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT

PRINCE ASHIE NEEQUAYE ESQ. FOR APPLICANTS PRESENT

GEORGE ESHUN FOR RESPONDENT PRESENT

[2017]DLHC3313
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >DANIEL ASHIE KOTEI AND ANOTHER<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>NII AMARKAI III<o:p></o:p>[HIGHT
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: GJ597/2017&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; 13TH JUNE, 2017<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>PRINCE
ASHIE NEEQUAYE, ESQ., FOR APPLICANTS PRESENT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>ERIC
K. BAFFOUR ESQ. JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none;
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</div>Plaintiff/Applicants
by this application seeks for an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain
the Defendant/Respondent and/or agents and assigns from trespassing or
interfering with the Asere Mantse’s palace at Anunsah Clottey Street Kaneshie
or the laying in state of Nii Owula Kpapka Blofonyo II in the Asere Mantse’s
official residence or to restrain defendant from conducting the funeral of of
any other person or the doing of any act in the Asere Mantse’s palace to defeat
the official residence status until the final determination of the suit.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>For
ease of appreciation of the application it would be useful to restate the reliefs
that plaintiffs seeks in the writ issued at the Registry of the court:<o:p></o:p><ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="a">
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
 justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">A declaration that the Asere
 Mantse’s palace situate lying and being at Anunsa Clottey Street, Kaneshie
 Accra is the official residence of the Asere Mantse and the Defendant has
 not had the consent of the Djorshie We of Asere and can therefore not lay
 the late Nii Owula Kpakpa Blofonyo II or any other person in state at the
 official residence of the Asere Mantse, or conduct any business there
 without the consent of the Head of Djorshie We.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
 justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">A further declaration that Asere
 Mantse Palace&nbsp; is the property of
 Nikoi Olai Stool of Djorshie We of the one part of Akotia Oworsika faction
 consisting of Agbon We and Frimpong We of the other part and by the NT
 Clerk committee’s report of 28th July, 1959 the Defendant’s
 faction cannot do or undertake any activity&nbsp; in the official residence of the Asere
 Mantse’s palace without the consent and concurrence of the Head of the
 Nikoi Olai Stool of Djorshie We which was declared as the Asere Mantse’s
 Stool.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
 justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">A further declaration that the
 Defendant’s Oworsika faction’s unilateral conduct&nbsp; of engaging&nbsp; in projects and other miscellaneous
 activities in the official residence of the Asere Mantse at Anunsa Clottey
 Street, Kaneshie Accra is contrary to the letter and spirit of the NT
 clerk committee’s report of 28th July, 1959.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
 justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">An order from this Court
 directing that hence forth the Asere Mantse’s palace at Anunsa Clottey
 Street, Kaneshie Accra, be joined, managed and controlled by joint members
 of the Djorshie We of the one part and the Akotia Oworsika faction
 consisting of Agbon We and Frimpong We of the other part.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
 justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Further or other reliefs as in
 the circumstances may be just including particular perpetual injunction to
 restrain the Defendant&nbsp; whether&nbsp; by himself, his servants, agents,
 assigns, privies, workmen, whomsoever or otherwise&nbsp; howsoever from interfering&nbsp; in any manner with the Asere Mantse
 Palace at Anunsa Clottey Street, Kaneshie or laying the corpse of Nii Owula
 Kpakpa Blofonyo II or any other person in the Asere Mantse’s official
 residence, or conducting&nbsp; any
 funeral of the said deceased or of any other person or doing anything in
 the Asere Mantse’s palace to defeat the official residence status.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>There
had existed within Asere the Djorshie We of which the applicants claim to hail
from, Akotia Oworsika faction which is in turn comprises Agbon We and Frempong
We. Due to a dispute between these factions the government commissioned a
Committee of Inquiry in 1958 to examine which of the two stools was the Asere
Mantse’s. The Committee headed by N. T Clerk recommended among others that the
consent of the head of the Djorshie family must be obtained if any alienation
of Asere stool property. For the quest by the government of Ghana to forge
unity among Asere it built a palace at Kaneshie as the official residence of
the Asere Mantse. <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In
an affidavit sworn to by the 1st Plaintiff/Applicant, he claims to
be the head of the royal family of Nikoi Olai stool family of Djorshie We Asere
whiles he concede that Defendant/Respondent is the Dzaasetse of the Akotia
Oworsika faction yet purports to style himself as the Dzaasetse of Asere. <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>To
Applicants defendant and his agents hailing from Oworsika faction have been
misconducting themselves by engaging in acts that undermines the cordial
relationship among the factions. The litany of the alleged misconduct include
the commencement of a construction in 2015 at the palace without the consent of
the faction of the Applicants as the palace is the joint property of the two factions.
Two that the Oworsika faction have been illegally attempting to install and
outdoor chiefs, queenmothers and elders of the Akotia faction without the
consent of Djorshie. Three t</main>