Government Takes Over Shiashie Lands
An attempt by the Apantse We family of the Greater Accra Region to permanently possess some tracks of the Shiashie land from government has hit the rock, as an Accra High Court has declared that a 1999 judgment, giving possession of the said land to the family is null and void.
The court, presided over by Justice Ernest Obimpe, in its ruling dated May 8, 2013, on an application for judicial review of the April 1999 judgment against the Lands Commission, set aside all the decisions of the judgment that gave possession of the disputed land to the Apantse We family.
The application seeking judicial review was subsequently dismissed, as the court described it as an abuse of the court process.
The court further set aside the land registration done in the name of the Apantse We family, following the April 1999 court judgment, as well as grants of lands made by the family.
According to the court, the judgment of April 1999, giving possession of the disputed land that was acquired in 1944 by government back to the Apantse We family was made in error.
In the opinion of the court, the April 1999 judgment was wrong as the Apantse We family failed to describe the boundaries of the land that they were claiming, adding that it was wrong for the trial court to use provisions of Article 20 of the 1992 Constitution to issues arising from acquisitions made in 1944.
The Apantse We family had come to court based on an application for judicial review and claiming injunctive orders, prohibition orders, cost and damages as well as orders for Certiorari and Mandamus against the Land Commission.
The family was seeking the court to restrain the Lands Commission from granting portions of the disputed Shaishie land to individuals and Institutions, quash the unilateral decision of the Lands Commission suspending the registration of lands in the name of the Apantse We family and compel the Commission to register the lands granted it through the 1999 judgment.
Additionally, the family sought damages for loss suffered for demolishing structures build by their grantees, extinguishing the ownership claims of government over the disputed lands including cost.
It was the case of the Apantse family that it was in possession of the Shiashie lands, when it was acquired compulsorily by the then colonial government in 1994 for the construction of an airfield for the use of the Air Forces of the Allied Forces during the 2 nd World War.
According to the Apantse family, when the war ended in 1945, the colonial government abandoned the project without taking possession of the land at all and as a result, it remained in possession of the land as owners till now without the authority of the colonial and post colonial government.
The family further argued that in the 1970s and 80s, the Lands Commission acted for and on behalf of the government and started allocating portions of the land to individuals and organizations, which was opposed and a legal action taken against the Commission.
It was this action that judgment was entered in favour of the Apantse family in April 1999 and further claimed that the action of the Lands Commission in granting portions of the land to individuals and institutions even after the decision of the court, demonstrates their disrespect for orders and judgment of the court.
In their response, the Lands Commission opposed the application and argued that the subject matter of the case was part of a larger tract of land acquired by the state in 1944 under the lands Ordinance (CAP 134) for the purpose of extending the existing airfield and not for construction of an airfield for the use of the Allied forces in the war.
According to the Lands Commission, the provisions under which the lands were acquired required a court hearing between and among conflicting claimants to determine the issue of ownership prior to the extinguishment of title of the original owner.
It further noted that compensation was subsequently received by the La Stool, who shared it among the various families under it and a certificate of titles was then issued at the Deeds Registry, adding that in the 1970s the state designed the various portions of the 5.6 square miles Shiashie land into residential, commercial, development of hotels, offices and shops and possessions were taken with objection from any person.
The Lands Commission submitted that the trial judge erred in the April 1999 judgment when he assumed the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and interpreted Article 20 of the 1992 Constitution retroactively to apply to acquisition done before the 1992 Constitution.
It also indicated that the Apantse We family obtained title to the lands they claim through clandestine means.