Afare Apeadu Donkor
The Accra High Court, Land Division, yesterday ordered Ishak Mutawakil and Afare Apeadu Donkor to stay away completely from a house at Roman Ridge belonging to one Professor Kwame Anatsui.
The court, in its ruling, said both Dr. Donkor and Mr. Mutawakil, defendants in the case, and their assigns are to refrain from the property located at Roman Ridge pending the filing of the application and determination of same by their lawyers within 14 days.
Prof. Anatsui, the plaintiff, through his lawyers sued Ishak Mutawakil, the 1st defendant, and Afare Apeadu Donkor, the 2nd defendant, for trespass.
The plaintiff is asking the court for perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents and assigns from ever interfering with the plaintiff’s “quiet enjoyment”.
Prior to the injunction placed on the two and their assigns, the alleged occupants of the house were attacked by the assigns of the 2nd defendant and the matter was reported to the Airport Police Command.
The plaintiff claimed the Airport Police had stepped in to prevent what could have become a fatal attack on residents of the property, who were placed there by the plaintiff.
Lawyers for the defendants, Paul Dzadey, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah and Perella Bruce in their submissions in court prayed against the injunction, but the court did not grant their request.
Lawyers for the plaintiff led by Alexander Afenyo-Markin with Bernina Korkor Okutu and Edwin Arthur however, argued that the current occupants have been attacked in recent times by persons believed to have been sent by the defendants.
Afenyo-Markin produced exhibits in court to prove that the current occupants were attacked by men on motorbikes carrying offensive weapons and, therefore, a restraining order against them was necessary, which the court granted.
Statement Of Claim
The plaintiff, in the statement of claim, said he approached the 1st defendant for the purchase of the property, and that checks revealed that the said property was state land which was leased to Blackwood Hodge (Gold Coast Limited) for a term of 75 years, who subsequently assigned same to the 1st defendant in a deed dated November 16, 1992.
However, further due diligence unearthed that the 1st defendant in a deed dated June 15, 2010 had sold and assigned its interests including rights and obligations to UT Financial Services, thereby extinguishing all interests of the 1st defendant to the said property.
Plaintiff avers that UT Financial Services in a deed dated April 18, 2011 assigned all its interest including its rights and obligations in the said property to him after the payment of US$750,000.00 receipt, which UT Financial Services duly acknowledged.
Plaintiff avers that as the 1st defendant at the time did not obtain the requisite consents and subdivision approval from Lands Commission in favour of UT Financial Services, (the duty of the 1st defendant to do so persisted) he agreed to obtain the requisite consents in favour of the plaintiff the cost of the consent to be shared between the plaintiff and the 1st defendant.
The plaintiff explained he continued to enjoy the peaceful occupation of the property until September 27, 2021 when the 1st defendant through his lawyer sought to evict him from the said property, stating that he had exercised the option to renew under the head lease although he had assigned all his interests in the said land, including rights and obligations to UT Financial Services (UT Bank Limited) who had subsequently assigned its interest to the plaintiff.
Plaintiff avers that he responded to the said letter through his lawyers in a letter dated October 11, 2021 reminding the 1st defendant that he had assigned all his interest in the said property, thus the option to renew extinguished along with the assignment to UT Financial Services.
He avers that to his utmost shock and surprise, it came to his attention that the 1st defendant had surreptitiously and fraudulently sold the said land to the 2nd defendant.
Reliefs
The plaintiff is, therefore, asking the court for the declaration of title to all that piece of land situate at Plot No K2A, Roman Ridge, Accra which is in contention, damages for trespass, and an order setting aside the renewal of the lease in favour of the 1st defendant.
The plaintiff is also asking the court for an order directed at Lands Commission to cancel or set aside the renewal obtained by the 1st defendant and an order directed at Lands Commission to cancel or set aside title documents in favour of the 2nd defendant in respect of the said land.