Ohene Appon Ababio V. Ohene Doku Kanga (1933)

LawGlobal Hub Judgment Report – West African Court of Appeal

Boundary dispute—Claim for demarcatimi of boundary between two divisions of one State—Res judicata—Weight of evidence—Longpossession.

Facts

The plaintiff, in his representative capacity as Ohene of Assents in the State of Eastern Akim, instituted a suit in the State Council of that State as against the defendant in his representative capacity as Ohene of Kickam in the same State, to determine the boundary between the divisions of Assenta and Kickam.

The State Council by their judgment dated the 11th of December, 1929, held that the matter was yes judicata, the boundaries between the two divisions having already been fixed by the Provincial Commissioner in the case of Arsopoley v. Alhunli. Judgment was therefore given in favour of the defendant with costs to be taxed. On an appeal having been taken to the Provincial Commissioner, he upheld the judgment of the State Council, not only on the ground of ray judicata, but also upon the evidence before such Tribunal.

On an appeal having been taken to the West African Court of Appeal from the latter judgment.

Held

That although the judgment upon which the judgments of the State Council and Provincial Commissioner were based did not constitute a valid rss judirafa, the parties to the present action not being parties or privies to the parties in the previous suit, there was ample evidence in the Courts below to support the conclusions at which the State Council and the Provincial Commissioner arrived.

The appeal was therefore dismissed with costs.