The Land Court Division of the High Court has directed that the Transport Minister and his Wife, Mrs. Wilhemina Asiamah be added as parties to an ongoing suit over ownership of a piece of land located at Tse Addo near the trade fair center.

The Land Court Division of the High Court gave this direction after the learned Emmanuel Bright Atokoh moved it to injunct the Transport Minister and his wife from developing the disputed land with land guards and the police who are stationed on the land at his behest while litigation is ongoing.

The learned Atokoh upon further inquiry from the court if the Minister is a party to the actual case in question answered in the negative but said the minister and his wife are privies to the 3rd and 4th defendant and thus, can and should be injuncted by the Court as prayed in their application.

PDF: Injunct appk

[Injunction application against the Minister and his wife]

Dissatisfied with the answer, the Justice of the High Court suggested a joinder of the Minister and his wife suggesting a desire by the court for more direct involvement by the Minister and his wife in the substantive case. Lawyer for the applicants of the injunction application said they had already filed for the joinder but same was slated for hearing in June, suggesting a more convenient and speedier way to halt the actions of the Minister through the application.

Minister's Response

The transport Minister and his wife were represented by Messrs Addo & Addo led by the learned Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo. Counsel who held the brief of Mr. Addo moved the court to set aside the service of the application for injunction on the grounds that their clients were not parties to the original suit numbered LD/0346/2020. Counsel for the Minister also told the court that in abundance of caution, they filed conditional appearance to the application to the laughter of lawyers of the applicant and a smile from the Presiding judge.

https://www.tiktok.com/@thelawplatform/video/7337323152269200646?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7239416459838375429

Arrest of Landowner

The learned Bright Atokoh observing the disposition of the court to the application prayed the court for some interim orders directed at the Minister and his wife as they were feverishly developing the land in dispute and the landowner who made a report of the actions of the Minister and his wife to the police was rather 'mysteriously' arrested and had to be bailed out by his lawyers on Wednesday night for the mere fact of reporting the Minister who the complainant-landowner found his conduct amounting to trespass and conduct prejudicial to the litigation over the land in court.

The Court was not minded to make the orders as requested by Counsel for the applicants but rather directed the joining of the Minister and his wife to the suit and the hearing of the application for injunction any any other outstanding matter on the 12th of June, 2024.