By Opesika Tetteh Puplampu, GNA
Tema, May 17, GNA — The Tema High Court, Land Division ‘C’, has declared the Adibiawer Clan as the allodial owners of approximately 67,594.27 acres of land at Hwakpo in the Ada Traditional Area and affirmed the Puplampu Family as rightful owners of a 5,650.56-acre portion of the land.
The court, presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Malike Awo Woanyah, dismissed claims by the Ackweh Family, ruling that they failed to establish root of title, mode of acquisition and acts of possession over the disputed land.
The judgment ends a protracted land dispute between the Ackweh and Puplampu families over ownership of lands at Hwakpo, which has remained a subject of contention for years.
The suit, filed in 2022, centered on claims by the Ackweh Family that their ancestors were granted the Hwakpo lands in the 17th century by the Adibiawer Clan through their great-grandmother, Adikuor Puplampu, to serve as a fetish priestess as atonement for communal offences.
According to the plaintiffs, both their great-grandmother and father later settled on the land and exercised ownership rights over it.
The Ackweh Family further claimed that their grandfather granted one acre of the disputed land to Mr Jacob Ackweh in 2018 for cassava cultivation, alleging that members of the Puplampu Family destroyed the immature plantation, leading to criminal proceedings and the subsequent civil action.
However, the Puplampu Family strongly rejected the claims and argued that the Ackweh Family neither belonged to the Puplampu lineage nor the Adibiawer Clan.
The defendants maintained that the Hwakpo lands had been in the continuous possession and control of the Puplampu Family “since time immemorial.”
They explained that the woman cited by the plaintiffs as their great-grandmother was rather an apprentice at a shrine in Tefle who had been undergoing training to serve at the Puplampu shrine.
According to the defendants, under Ga-Dangme customary practice, persons serving in such a capacity, similar to the Trokosi system among some Ewe communities, were regarded as perpetual servants of the shrine and do not acquire ownership rights over family lands.
The court heard that the disputed land formed part of the larger Adibiawer Clan lands, with the Puplampu Family exercising customary ownership and chieftaincy authority over the Hwakpo area for generations.
The defendants named several traditional leaders connected to the land, including Nene Korblah Atufonye Puplampu, Nene Ebewahe Puplampu, Nene Daya Puplampu, and Nene Hakpo Adibuetey Puplampu.
They further told the court that the Hwakpo lands are bounded by Koluedor to the west, Sogakope to the north, Nuhuale to the northeast, Adokope to the east, and Luhuor to the south, while also sharing boundaries with Sege township, the Songor Lagoon, and the Lomobiawer Clan lands.
The Puplampu Family further argued that the Ackweh Family belonged to the Dangmebiawer Clan and therefore lacked the customary standing to claim ownership of Hwakpo lands.
In her judgment, Justice Woanyah held that under Ghanaian land law, a party claiming ownership of land must prove root of title, mode of acquisition and demonstrate clear acts of possession and control.
The court found that the Ackweh Family’s evidence contained material inconsistencies and contradictions, while the evidence presented by the Puplampu Family was credible, consistent, and supported by historical occupation and possession.
The court further held that the Adibiawer Clan remained the original allodial owners of the Hwakpo lands and that the Ackweh Family were neither original owners nor members of the Adibiawer Clan.
Justice Woanyah noted that even the plaintiffs’ own witness corroborated the claim that the Ackweh Family did not belong to the Adibiawer Clan.
The court also took judicial notice of evidence showing that Hwakpo was historically known as “Puplampu Korpe,” further strengthening the defendants’ claim to longstanding occupation and control of the land.
The court consequently ruled that the Ackweh Family could not validly grant any portion of the land to Mr Jacob Ackweh for farming purposes and upheld the ownership rights of the Puplampu Family over the 5,650.56-acre estate.
Counsel for the Puplampu Family welcomed the judgment, describing it as a vindication of the family’s historical stewardship and customary ownership of the Hwakpo lands.
As of the time of filing this report, neither party had indicated whether an appeal would be lodged against the ruling.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Benjamin Mensah