TOGBEVI KOJOE vs. YAOVI HELOO AND MARGARET LAMLEY ODOI [2021]DLCA10786

Date	2021-05-20
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. H1/47/2016
Citation No.	[2021]DLCA10786

JUSTICE LAWRENCE L. MENSAH JA (PRESIDING)

JUSTICE MERLEY A. WOOD (MRS) JA

JUSTICE ERIC BAAH JA

[2021]DLCA10786
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >TOGBEVI KOJOE<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>YAOVI HELOO AND MARGARET LAMLEY ODOI<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT)<o:p></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: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

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padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">CIVIL APPEAL NO. H1/47/2016&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;DATE: 20TH MAY, 2021<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>JUSTICE LAWRENCE L. MENSAH JA (PRESIDING),
JUSTICE MERLEY A. WOOD (MRS) JA, JUSTICE ERIC BAAH 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 0cm;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;LAWRENCE L. MENSAH JA:<o:p></o:p>This
is an appeal by the Plaintiff/Appellant who will be referred to as the
Plaintiff against the judgment of the Circuit Court Accra, dated the 13th
day of September, 2010 in favour of the Defendants/Respondents who will be
referred to as the Defendants.<o:p></o:p>The
subject-matter of this appeal is in respect or a piece of parcel of land
situate and being at Pig Farm or Maamobi, Accra, as the parties variously
called the location of the disputed land.<o:p></o:p>Case of Plaintiff:<o:p></o:p>The
case of the plaintiff in relation to the disputed land is, that in July 1983,
he acquired a piece of land with a three bedroom uncompleted house to window
level on it in the sum of Five Thousand (¢5000.00). He purchased same from Nii
Akwei Saka II the Chief of Mamobi and Pig Farm. He had the land registered in
the Land Registry as No. 2101/83. After purchase of the land he travelled out
of the country to Cameroon in 1984 but left the land in the hands of his
brother. In 1999 his brother reported to him that the 1st Defendant
had trespassed onto the land, and so he returned home to confront the 1st
Defendant. <o:p></o:p>When
the 1st Defendant insisted that the disputed land did not belong to
the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff instituted action in the Registry of the Circuit
Court and claimed the following reliefs from 1st Defendant who was
later joined to the action by 2nd Defendant:<o:p></o:p>a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Declaration of title<o:p></o:p>b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Recovery of possession<o:p></o:p>c)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Damages for trespass <o:p></o:p>d)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Perpetual injunction restraining the
Defendant, his agents, servants, assigns from having anything to do on the land
whatsoever.<o:p></o:p>Case of 1st
Defendant;<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The 1st Defendant’s defence is that
the disputed property belonged to the family of the 2nd Defendant
who gave the land to a caretaker to &nbsp;operate
a fitting shop on the said land. 1st Defendant said he was given the
land in about 1996-1997 by the caretaker who is one Gabriel Mensah alias “Old
man”, to operate his fitting shop. He later met the 2nd Defendant
and her sister when one day the plaintiff confronted him and asked him who
placed him on the land and he mentioned Gabriel Mensah. It was there the
plaintiff told him that the disputed land belonged to him plaintiff and that he
the 1st Defendant must vacate the land. The 1st Defendant
said he vacated the land because the Plaintiff had threatened his life with
juju.<o:p></o:p>Case of 2nd
Defendant:<o:p></o:p>For
her part, the 2nd Defendant said she was the daughter of the late
Rebecca Marku Norteye and head of the family to which her mother belonged. She
told the Court that she was an illiterate and so she could not tell when her
mother purchased the disputed land, but she knew that her mother purchased the
land for twenty-five pounds from the then chief of Mamobi Nii Adokwei Saka II
to which she was given indenture Exh.1. After the acquisition, her mother
commenced construction of a five bedroom house, but she died in 1975 when </main>