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      THE SUPERIOR COURT OF JUDICATURE IN THE HIGH COURT

                                            OF JUSTICE (LAND COURT DIVISION) HELD IN ACCRA ON

                                             FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2011. BEFORE HIS LORDSHIP              

                                                               JUSTICE ANTHONY OPPONG J.

                                           __________________________________________

 

        SUIT NO. FAL 198/11

 

 CHARLES J. A. ASHONG                                                   }         PLAINTIFF

 SUING PER HIS ATTORNEY

DAN LAMPTEY

ADABRAKA-ACCRA.

 

                          VS.

  

     WILLIAM SARFO                                    

               C/O GHANA TELECOM UNIVERSITY

               TESANO-ACCRA.                                                                }        DEFENDANT

 

   

________________________________________________________________________

Parties: Plaintiff ‘s attorney present.  Defendant absent.

Counsel: G. K. Ntony for plaintiff present. Lawyer for defendant absent.

Plaintiff open case.

My name is Daniel Lamptey. I live at Mamprobi in Accra. I know Charles Ashong (the plaintiff) in this case. He has given me power of attorney. I am therefore the attorney of the plaintiff. The power of attorney has been presented for stamping hence I cannot tender it today. Sometime in 1999 the plaintiff had a friend called Stephen who asked him to buy land for him. So plaintiff gave money to Stephen and Stephen bought the land for him. Plaintiff works at Cape-Coast and Stephen is in Accra. The land Stephen bought for plaintiff is at Afariwa Estate in Oyarifa. Stephen bought the land from one Shasha Yemoh, an agent of the elders of Oyarifa, the owners of the land . I do not know the name of the family of which Shasha Yemoh acted as an agent. After paying for the land, he was issued with a document and he went to the Lands Department to register it. After the registration, plaintiff started developing the land. He made the footings up to the foundation level and left it for some time. Since he was working in Cape-Coast he could not come to Accra every day to supervise the work. So he asked Stephen to supervise the work for him. Stephen did it up to the slab level and since money was not forthcoming he had to stop for sometime. Upon purchase of the land, plaintiff was issued with a site plan that shows the dimension of the land purchased. And Stephen erected corner pillars on the land. When the land was first entered there was no evidence of prior occupation. Few years later plaintiff came to Accra and went to the site to check what he had done with the intention of continuation. When he went there he saw some people on the site digging through his foundation. He asked them to stop and asked them who gave them the authority to work on the land. They actually did not mind him. Plaintiff reported the matter to Adenta police. Police came to the site and asked them to stop work and they stopped. They asked them to produce their document. A week or two later they brought their document to the police. We also submitted our document. I have with me a copy of the document we showed to the police. The document is tendered into evidence and same is marked as Exhibit ‘A’. Exhibit ‘A’ was the indenture issued to me when we bought the land. It was the defendant who had entered the land and digging the trench. The police commander asked the police in charge to conduct a search at the Lands Department and the search was conducted. Defendant did not disclose where he got the land from. At the police we got to know that defendant also bought the land from the same Shasha Yemoh. Personally we have not had any meeting with Shasha Yemoh, who claimed that plaintiff has never bought any land from him claiming that he does not know plaintiff. Shasha Yemoh is one of the executors of Exhibit ‘A’. Defendant has now developed the land to seal/window level. Defendant has been stopped and so he has not done anything again. I am therefore claiming the reliefs endorsed on the writ of summons.

End of evidence in chief.

End of plaintiff’s case.

By Court:     Judgment:

This case was adjourned to today 14th October 2011 for hearing at the instance of plaintiff. Accordingly hearing notice was served on defendant through defendant’s lawyer. Nevertheless, both defendant and his lawyer are absent without any reason. In the circumstance the court proceeded to hear the case of plaintiff, the absence of defendant notwithstanding. It is observed that defendant has a counterclaim on record and so in accordance with Order 36 Rule 1 (2) (a) of C. 1. 47, the said counterclaim is dismissed. Plaintiff’s attorney has adduced evidence to show that plaintiff purchased the land in dispute in 1999. He tendered into evidence Exhibit ‘A’, an Indenture dated 16th August 1999 executed between Nii Mensah Okpoti Kodia and Nii Larsey Kodia, joint heads and legal representatives of Kodia family of Fafraha/Oyarifa on one hand and plaintiff on the other hand. Plaintiff’s attorney had further given evidence as to going into possession and carrying out some development activity on the land before defendant violated plaintiff’s possessory rights. In the absence of any challenge to the evidence adduced on the record by plaintiff’s attorney coupled with what I make out of Exhibit ‘A’, I am left with no option but to declare ownership of the land in favor of plaintiff. Accordingly judgment is entered in favour of plaintiff. He is declared the owner of all that piece of land situate at Fafraha/Oyarifa and covering an area of o.26 acres and measuring 130 feet at the North East. 80 feet at South 45 feet on the South West and 80 feet at the west for general damages I award plaintiff the sum of GH¢10.000. I order recovery of possession of the said land in favour of plaintiff and defendant by herself, his agents, servants, workmen, privies are hereby restrained from interfering with the land in dispute. Plaintiff is awarded costs of GH¢200.00.

 

 

                                                                            (SGD)  ANTHONY OPPONG

 JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT

 

 

 
 

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