The Supreme Court has, in a unanimous decision, entered judgment in favour of investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in a protracted land litigation involving Holy Quaye and other parties, over a two-acre parcel of land at Tse Addo in Accra.
A five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Pwamang JSC, with Justices Gaewu, Adjei-Frimpong, Suurbaareh and Mensah concurring, ruled that the appellant, Anas – had demonstrated “good cause” why the Supreme Court should interfere with the findings of fact made by the High Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
The judgment, delivered on November 12, 2025 reversed all findings of the lower courts, which had previously upheld the claim of Adolph Tetteh Adjei, the original plaintiff and dismissed Anas’s counter-claim.
Background of the Case
The dispute began when the plaintiff initiated an action at the High Court (Land Division) seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration of title to a two-acre parcel of land, damages for trespass, recovery of possession, and an injunction restraining Anas and Holy Quaye from interfering with the property.
Anas, in his defence and counterclaim, asserted that he acquired the land through a customary grant in 2005 from the AtaaTawiahTsinaiatse and NumoOfoliKwashie families of La, who he described as the bona fide owners of the larger tract of land within the La enclave.
The plaintiff, however, claimed title through La Hillsview Development Ltd, which purportedly obtained its interest from the East Dadekotopon Development Trust (EDDT).
Justice Mensah JSC, who authored the lead judgment, traced the intricate history of the dispute, including multiple caveats, consent judgments, earlier High Court decisions and a series of appeals dating back to 1997.
The court found that both the High Court and the Court of Appeal erred in law by relying on conveyances and land title certificates issued to La Hillsview Development Ltd and later to the plaintiff, even though the evidence showed that the EDDT Trustee who issued the grant acted without the concurrence of the other trustees, contrary to the Trustees (Incorporation) Act, 1962 (Act 106).
The Supreme Court held that the conveyances flowing from the defective trust processes were invalid, stating emphatically: “One cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. It shall surely fall.”
The apex court found overwhelming evidence that Anas’s Grantors, the Tsinaiatse and OfoliKwashie families, had remained in long-standing physical possession of their land and their interest had even been recognised in earlier settlements and consent judgments in related cases.
The court also held that Anas had proved that he obtained a valid customary grant in 2005, which was later formalised and that the lower courts’ contrary findings were “perverse and inconsistent” with both oral and documentary evidence.
The Supreme Court set aside all findings of the High Court and Court of Appeal that favoured the plaintiff.
It also struck down as invalid the land title certificates issued to La Hillsview Development Ltd and to the plaintiff.
And it affirmed the validity of Anas’s customary grant and his subsequent interest in the disputed property.
Additionally, a cost of GH¢20,000 was awarded in favour of Anas.
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