IBRAHIM MUSAH vs. BEATRICE ASAMOAH YEBOAH AND OBIRI BAFFOUR GABRIEL [2020]DLCA9859

Date	2020-10-29
Suit No.
Citation No.	[2020]DLCA9859

ANGELINA M. DOMAKYAAREH (MRS.) JA. (PRESIDING)

A. B. POKU-ACHEAMPONG JA.

SAMUEL K.A. ASIEDU JA

JOSEPH TAWIAH FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT

NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS

[2020]DLCA9859
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><a name="_Hlk35510717">IBRAHIM MUSAH<o:p></o:p></a>&nbsp;(PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>BEATRICE
ASAMOAH YEBOAH AND OBIRI BAFFOUR GABRIEL<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;(DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS)<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;">

CIVIL
APPEAL NO.
H1/28/2017&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;DATE: 29TH OCTOBER, 2020<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>JOSEPH TAWIAH FOR
PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;">

NO LEGAL
REPRESENTATION FOR DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>ANGELINA M.
DOMAKYAAREH (MRS.) JA. (PRESIDING), A. B. POKU-ACHEAMPONG, JA. , SAMUEL K.A.
ASIEDU, JA.<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0in;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:
150%;tab-stops:147.0pt;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>&nbsp;S.K.A.
ASIEDU, JA.<o:p></o:p>This
is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court, Sunyani, delivered on the
4th July 2016. The Plaintiff/Appellant sued the
Defendants/Respondents for a declaration of title to a parcel of land situate
and lying at Dormaa Ahenkro in the then Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. The
Plaintiff/Appellant also prayed the High Court for Perpetual Injunction and
General damages for trespass unto his land. The Plaintiff/Appellant says that
he acquired the parcel of land from one Kwadwo Anane Yeboah in 2013 with the
intention of constructing a Fuel Station on the said land. Hitherto, the said
Kwadwo Anane Yeboah, who had been in occupation of the parcel of land for well
over twenty years prior to the sale of the land, had used same also as a Fuel
Station which was not operational at the time he disposed of it. The Plaintiff
says that he caused sand to be deposited unto the land after its acquisition.
Upon a visit to the land, the Plaintiff/Appellant found that the 1st
Defendant had caused a foundation to be dug on the land in preparation for a
building to be put up. When the Plaintiff/Appellant could not get the 1st
Defendant to stop her trespass, he issued a writ of summons against her. The 1st
Defendant then joined the 2nd Defendant to the suit on the ground
that the land was acquired by the 2nd Defendant who is a brother to
the 1st Defendant. The 2nd Defendant claims that he
bought the land from Kwadwo Anane Yeboah, the Plaintiff’s grantor as far back
as 2008 and that he also intended to use the land for a Fuel Station. According
to the 2nd Defendant, it was him who permitted the 1st
Defendant to go unto the land to start with the development. The
Defendants/Respondents also claimed that they were informed by the Lands
Commission that the land in dispute was State land and that they subsequently
obtained a lease from the Lands Commission. After trial, the High Court found
for the Defendants/Respondents and entered judgment for them against the
Plaintiff. It is against this judgment, delivered on the 4th July
2016, that the Plaintiff/Appellant filed an Appeal on the 21st July
2016, on the grounds that:<o:p></o:p>“(a). The learned Judge erred in
holding that the land in dispute was sold by Plaintiff’s 1st Witness
to the 2nd Defendant.<o:p></o:p><a name="_Hlk52031714">(b).
That the learned Judge erred in holding that the land in dispute had been duly
acquired by the State and that the same was State land. <o:p></o:p></a>(c).
That the learned Judge erred in his finding that no valid disposition of Dormaa
Stool land has been made to the Plaintiff.<o:p></o:p>(d). That <a name="_Hlk51926533">the
judgment is against the weight of evidence</a>.”<o:p></o:p>The
Plaintiff/Appellant indicated, on the Notice of Appeal, that additional grounds
may be filed upon receipt of the Record of Appeal. However, there is nothing on
the record to show that additional grounds of appeal have been filed by the
Plaintiff/Appellant.<o:p></o:p>It
is now settled law that an appeal is by way of re-hearing. This is clearly
stated in Rule 8(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 1996, CI 19. And by this, it
is implied that the appellate court is to review the evidence, both documentary
and oral evidence adduced before the trial court and determine, within the
confines of the law and evidence, whether the trial court came to the correct
conclusion. See Comfort Offeibea Dodoo
vs. Nii Amartey Mensah
(Civil Appeal Suit No. J4/12/2019) (unreported), delivered on
the 5th February, 2020. The Plaintiff/Appellant has also stated, as one of the
grounds of appeal at ground (d), that
the
judgment is against the weight of evidence.&nbsp;
It has been held in several cases that whenever an appeal is based on
the ground that the judgment is against the weight of evidence, it implies that
the Appellant is contending that there are certain pieces of evidence on the
record which warrants a judgment in his favour but which were ignored by the
trial judge and that if those pieces of evidence had been correctly applied,
the trial judge would have come to no other conclusion than to enter judgment
in favour of the Appellant. Thus, in Djin
vs. Musah Baako [2007-2008] SCGLR 686, the Supreme Court held that: <o:p></o:p>“Where an Appellant complains that a
judgment is against the weight of evidence, he is implying that there were
certain pieces of evidence on the record which, if applied in his favour, could
have changed the decision in his favour, or certain pieces of evidence have
been wrongly applied against him. The onus is </main>