ANDREWS NARH BI & 3 ORS vs ASAFOATSE KWETEY AKORSORKU III [2023]DLSC16083

Date	2023-07-27
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/28/2022
Citation No.	[2023]DLSC16083

BAFFOE- BONNIE JSC (PRESIDING)

PROF. KOTEY JSC.

OWUSU (MS.) JSC

LOVELACE-JOHNSON (MS.) JSC.

AMADU JSC

L. KWAKU ANSAH ESQ.

ALFRED PAAPA DARKWAH ESQ.

[2023]DLSC16083
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ANDREWS NARH BI &amp; 3 ORS<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>ASAFOATSE KWETEY AKORSORKU III<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT//RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[SUPREME
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;<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;">

CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/28/2022&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE:27THJULY 2023<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL&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; <o:p></o:p>L. KWAKU ANSAH ESQ.&nbsp;
FOR DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS/APPELLANTS<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;">

ALFRED PAAPA
DARKWAH ESQ. FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT/ RESPONDENT <o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>BAFFOE- BONNIE JSC (PRESIDING), PROF. KOTEY JSC., OWUSU (MS.) JSC, LOVELACE-JOHNSON
(MS.) JSC., AMADU JSC<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="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">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>AMADU JSC:-<o:p></o:p>INTRODUCTION:<o:p></o:p>This appeal
emanates from the judgment of the Court of Appeal dated 20th May,
2021 wherein the Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the High Court, Land
Division-Accra, dated 27th February, 2019 in favour of the Plaintiff/Appellant/
Respondent/Cross/Appellant. For purposes of consistency, the parties shall bear
the designations assigned them at the Trial Court, simply as “Defendants
and Plaintiff”.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The appeal, though
straight-forward in terms of the substantive issues for determination is
however shrouded in various technicalities from the Trial High Court to this
court.&nbsp; As a court of last resort, this
court has always been circumspect in determining cases without sacrificing
substance on the alter of technicalities unless the technical issue raised is
of a kind which is indisputably fatal to proceedings and manifestly unanswerable
on the peculiar facts of each case and relevant law.<o:p></o:p>The issues arising
for determination in this appeal rest on three key areas: capacity/locus standi; ownership of the land, the
subject matter in dispute as well as allegations of bias against one of the justices
of the Court of Appeal, the latter which in our view ought not to be relevant
to the instant appeal but which could have been raised by the invocation of the
appropriate jurisdiction of this court for the consequential remedy. We shall
however address that ground shortly.<o:p></o:p>Intriguingly,
while these crucial issues for determination are not difficult to identify, the
Defendants have anchored their appeal on a myriad of as many as twelve (12)
grounds most of which contravene the mandatory rules of this court on the proper
formulation of grounds of appeal. The grounds of appeal as set out in the Defendants’
notice of appeal are as follows: <o:p></o:p>The judgment of the Court of Appeal is
against the weight of evidence placed before it.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;His Lordship Justice P. Bright Mensah J.A
wrongly exercised his judicial discretion by not only accepting to sit as an
appellate judge over the same case he partly handled at the trial Court, and
with the Trial Court’s influence or bias, went ahead to write the lead judgment
of the Court of Appeal which the other two judges only agreed or concurred to.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The Learned Lordships of the Court of
Appeal unfortunately failed to consider the totality of the evidence of
Defendants/ Respondents/Appellants which occasioned substantial miscarriage of justice.<o:p></o:p>The court erred in law when it admitted
Asafoatse Kwetey Akorsorku III as a Head of Family of Djanmaku Trominya but
failed to indicate how and when he ceased to hold the said position to
(purportedly) cloth or qualify Asafoatse Nartey Wayo Akamisa II of “Wenguam” </main>