Alpha Beta Education Centres Limited (Alpha Beta) has been declared rightful owners of a disputed land situated at Akokofoto in South Odorkor, Accra, and given powers by the Court of Appeal to recover possession from all trespassers on the land.
This follows a Court of Appeal judgment which unanimously overturned a High Court decision ruling by Justice Amo Yartey on 5th March 2021 that declared title for Alpha Beta but barred the school from recovering possession from trespassers.
Alpha Beta, according to the evidence submitted on record, obtained a sublease from a private developer who was granted a lease by the Adam Kwartei Quartey family of Gbawe, allodial title owners of the Akokofoto land.
The Adam Kwartei Quartey family of Gbawe in 2006 were declared allodial owners of the land by the High Court presided over by Justice Victor Ofoe in a suit brought against the Sempe stool. An appeal against this decision by the Sempe stool was struck out for want of prosecution.
However, the Sempe stool according to facts in the present case had disregarded the ruling and gone ahead to lease the same land to other developers who interfered with the rights of Alpha Beta.
Some of the trespassers had constructed on the land for commercial and residential purposes. Alpha Beta thus sued the trespassers, including the Sempe Stool, seeking an injunction against them.
Sempe stool and the defendants, however, denied the title of Alpha Beta and accused the educational institution of securing its title through fraud.
But at the High Court, Justice Amo Yartey ruled that indeed the title of Alpha Beta was legal and there was no evidence to support a claim that the title was obtained through fraud.
Surprisingly as described by the centre, Justice Amo Yartey however barred Alpha Beta from recovering possession of its land.
Justice Amo Yartey’s decision relied on a case that was settled by the Supreme Court in 1963 and claimed the said decision vested possession of the Akokorfoto land in the Sempe stool. Alpha Beta rejected this position explaining that was not the position of the court in the said case in 1963.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court, Alpha Beta appealed.
Alpha Beta argued that the High Court judge ought to have declared the recovery of possession after determining that Alpha Beta had rightfully obtained legal title.
The three-bench panel of the Court of Appeal comprising Henry Kwofie JSC (Presiding), P. Bright Mensah J.A. and Janapare Bartels-Kodwo J.A, after reviewing the evidence presented during trial and arguments raised by parties during the appeal, unanimously found that the High Court judge’s decision on the 5th March 2021 was wrong in law.
The court of appeal in its judgment noted that the trial judge erred when he refused to grant Alpha Beta’s request for recovery of possession, despite declaring that the Centre had a valid title.
The Court of Appeal further agreed with Alpha Beta that the High Court misapplied the Supreme Court case it sought to rely on. According to the judgment, the Supreme Court case had nothing to do with the instant dispute.
The Appellate Court thus set aside the decision of the High Court and ordered recovery of possession. The Court of Appeal further injuncted the Sempe stool and all other defendants, their successors-in-title, privies, agents, workmen, etc, from dealing with the land and or doing anything inconsistent with the Plaintiff’s quiet enjoyment of the land.
Defendants in the case, 21 in number, have been directed to pay special damages of GHS 40,000 each, and costs of GHS 100,000 in favour of Alpha Beta.
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