Rawlings� Bodyguard Fights Over Ownership Of Land

The former personal bodyguard of Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings has failed an appeal at the Supreme Court seeking a reversal of a ruling of the Court of Appeal that set aside a judgment of an Accra High Court, which declared him as rightful owner of a piece of land situated at Oyarifa, a suburb of Accra. In his appeal before the Supreme Court, Mr. Patrick Kuntoh, is requesting the court to restore the earlier decision of the trial High Court, declaring him the owner of the land in dispute. According to Mr. Kuntoh, the Court of Appeal presided over by Justice Isaac Douse, with Justices Acquah and Ayebi as additional panel members erred in law by declaring that the trial High Court did not have the jurisdiction to handle the case. The applicant further noted that the Court of Appeal had caused a blunder for holding that the respondent, one Angelo R. Adukure was not given adequate notice of hearing, notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence of service of available records on him. It will be recalled that an Accra High Court in a suit filed by Mr. Kuntoh seeking a declaration of title to a piece of land situated at Oyarifa, on March 13, 2009, ruled that the former President�s Personal Bodyguard was the rightful owner of the land and that all the other defendants were encroachers. In the said land suit, Mr. Kuntoh had sued six individuals including Mr. Adukure and the Lands Commission for an order for the recovery of portions of land entered upon, purportedly alienated or developed by the six defendants, and had further sought an order for perpetual injunction to restrain the defendants, their servants and privies. However, the Court of Appeal on May 3, this year, ruled and set aside declaring Mr. Kuntoh as the rightful owner of the disputed land. It was the view of the Court of Appeal that Mr. Adukure was not adequately served with notice to appear before the court and as such hand been denied of natural justice.