Court dismisses Nungua Stool, Lakeside Estate over review of judgment

A High Court in Accra presided over by his lordship Justice Dennis Adjei has dismissed an application filed by Lakeside Estate and the Nungua Stool for a review of his (Justice Dennis Adjei) earlier judgment which went in favor of the La Stool, Fodas Estates and SFA for lack of merit.

Couple of weeks ago, the protracted Ashiyie land tussle between the La Stool, FODAS Estates and SFA Limited as plaintiffs versus Nungua Stool, Lakeside Estates and three others was put to rest by a High Court ruling on 7th July 2016 in favor of the plaintiffs.

Brief fact of the case is that the 1st plaintiff’s (La Stool) claim that his Stool acquired a large tract of land through war and settlement and has been in undisturbed possession of the land over 300 years ago.

The 1st plaintiff described the land in which allodial title is vested in his stool as stretching from it’s present location at La on South East, Gbatsuna land, Otano land, Aduman land up to what is termed the Big Pillar, stretching further to Katamanso land on the far North East, on the South West by Roman Ridge and Kisseman lands, Otwoo Okuma land on the North West by Abokobi land, Adenkrebi land all measuring an approximate area of 49,420 acres or 20,000.27 hactares.

The 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs respectively claimed that they acquired parcels of the land from the 1st plaintiff in 2007 and had their conveyancing stamped by the Land Valuation Department of the Lands Commission in 2011.

However, the plaintiffs were not been able to register the conveyances because the lands allocated to them and some other lands in that neighborhood had been registered in the name of the Agric Cattle and Lakeside Estates (1st and 5th defendants).

His Lordship Dennis Adjei who sat as an additional High Court Judge on 7th July 2016 indicated unambiguously in his judgment that per his findings in the various evidence and exhibits brought before him, “it is clear that the land granted to the 2nd plaintiff falls outside the 1st and 5th defendants claim and therefore cannot extend their land to cover the land granted to the 2nd plaintiff,”… except that a quarter of the 3rd plaintiff’s land falls within the lands belonging to the 1st and 5th defendants.

Out of the total land mass of 49,420 acres situate at La Tsui Anaa which forms part of the reliefs the 1st plaintiff’s sought from the court, His Lordship Dennis Adjei granted the 5th defendant’s counterclaim to some 2,911.53 acres of land by reason of their long period of stay on the land and documentary evidence to back same as against the oral or traditional evidence given by the 1st plaintiff in respect of that portion of land.

At the hearing of the review, Justice Adjei indicated that during the examination of evidence brought before the court, the Lakeside Estates showed a larger portion of the land during inspection on the ground, which is more than they actually have on their own title or plan which they brought before the court.

The court stated that their claim to a larger acres of land cannot be supported by the evidence of their own title and plan brought before the court which clearly covers the 2,911.53 acres the court had already granted them and therefore Justice Dennis Adjei’s ruling still stands and the review dismissed.