Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estates wins case
The Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court has in two separate judgements declared that a parcel of land situated at Katamanso in the Greater Accra Region legally belongs to the Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estates Limited, a real estate company.
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The first judgement made by the court, presided over by Mr Justice Dennis Adjei, a Court of Appeal judge who sat as an additional High Court Judge, held that Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Ltd. had proved its counter claim against the plaintiffs, the La Stool, Fodas Estates Limited and SFA Limited.
In the second suit, the presiding judge, Mr Justice G. S. Suurbaareh, also submitted that Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited was the rightful owner of the land measuring 2,911.53 acres.
Land in question
The land in question forms part of the Nungua Stool Lands and was claimed by a number of families, companies and individuals.
The plaintiffs in the first case, Dr Nii Kpobi Tetteh Tsuru III, representing the La Stool, with Fodas Estates Ltd and SFA Ltd as co-claimants, sued Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Ltd, the Nungua Stool and two others for a declaration of title of all that piece of land situated and being at La Tsui Ana, which forms part of plaintiff land covering an approximate area of 49,420 acres.
Second suit
In the second suit, Mr John Offei Armah, sued as an executor of the estate of one Dr Emmanuel Maama Boye, who died on September 24, 2002.
Mr Armah had claimed that Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Ltd had trespassed on the land of Dr Boye.
Another claimant to the land in dispute is the Ashalley-Botwe Family.
The family said the land in contention was contained in a statutory Declaration No. 4345 and registered as 761/1977.
The High Court said all the lands were alienated to the grantee, Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Ltd, by the Nungua Stool.
It, therefore, stopped the plaintiffs from claiming the area of land granted by the Nungua Stool to Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Ltd as per Land Title No. 0513.
Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate
The Managing Director of the Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate, Noble Prince-Joseph Ayiku, who testified on behalf of his company, also said the company acquired the subject land in 1974 from Black Watch Cattle Breeding Farms, which had in turn been granted the subject land since 1970 by the Nungua Stool.
According to Mr Ayiku, his company had been in undisturbed possession of the subject land for 46 years and had made several extensive developments on same.
Dr Nii Kpakpo Sraha III, who represented the Nungua Stool, also contended that the subject land was situated at Katamanso, a division under the Nungua Stool.
Nungua Stool lands
He confirmed the grant by the Nungua Stool to Black Watch Cattle Breeding Farms in 1970 and subsequently to Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate in 1974 and 1995 respectively. He gave account of other grants by the Nungua Stool to other individuals, companies and the government in the same area that the disputed land lies. He also tendered decisions of courts and other documents, plans and maps which confirmed Nungua’s allodial ownership.
The court, however, dismissed the claims of the plaintiffs, entered judgment in favour of Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate and the Nungua Stool and allowed cost against the plaintiffs.
In the second case, the court ruled that Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Limited was the rightful owner of the land.
The ruling by Mr Justice Suurbaareh said the land was delineated in the Land Title Certificate No. TD 0513, Volume 019 Folio 241.
Executor of will
One of the plaintiffs, John Offei Armah, sued as an executor of the will of one Dr Emmanuel Maama Boye, who died on September 24, 2002, claiming that the defendant (Agri-Cattle Lakeside Estate Ltd) had trespassed onto his land.
He further stated that those acts of trespass by the defendant were brought to his attention in 1998.
The Head of the Ashalley-Botwe Family, who was the second plaintiff, in his statement of claim, also averred that his family was the rightful owner of the land described in the Schedule and Site Plan attached to the Writ of Summons.
The Ashalley-Botwe Family went on to state that the family had defended its title to the disputed land as being part of a large tract of land belonging to the family in suit No. L2970/93, which travelled up to the Supreme Court, culminating in a judgement dated May 5, 2004 in suit No. 24/2004.
But both presiding judges dismissed the claims of the plaintiffs and awarded a total cost of GH¢8,000 against them.
