The Court of Appeal on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, dismissed a case brought before it by Yaw Boakye seeking to suspend an order by the High Court asking tenants of the building to pay rent into an account designated by the High Court until the final determination of a suit by the estate seeking recovery of possession of the property.

The said building belongs to the late Edward Osei Boakye of Boakye Mattress fame and appellant Yaw Boakye is by virtue of a sub-lease from the Estate/Trustees in control of the property located at Airport just before the Shell filling station at 37.

The three-member Court of Appeal panel presided over by Justice Henry Kwofi unanimously decided that the application was without merit.

It was, therefore, held that the ruling by the High Court was in tandem with the law and the circumstances of the case.

“We are not minded to exercise our discretion in favour of the applicant. The application is dismissed,” the second-highest court of the land ruled.

The court awarded a cost of GH¢5,000 against Yaw Boakye.

Background

Following the death of Mr. Edward Osei Boakye in 2006, a dispute arose over the ownership of the property between Executors of the Estate and Trustees who operate under the name Edward Osei Boakye Trust Fund represented by three Trustees and Yaw Boakye.

This dispute travelled from the High Court to the Court of Appeal where Yaw Boakye lost in a judgment delivered in 2011.

He was ordered by the court to vacate the property but the parties agreed at a Supreme Court hearing that the matter is settled amicably which led to a consent judgement in 2014.

The Trustees of Edward Osei Boakye in April 2016 decided to sublease the property to Yaw Boakye for a period of 15-years and for a monthly rent of $35,000 payable annually in advance. This was part of the terms in the consent judgement.

After payment of one year rent in 2014, Yaw Boakye defaulted in the payment of rent with outstanding rent amounting to $1,260,000 covering the period May 2016 to April 2019.

The Trustees, therefore, filed a case at the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court seeking to recover the commercial property from Yaw Boakye and his tenants, recover unpaid rent and also damages for breach of contract.

They also prayed the court to order the tenants on the property not to pay rent to Yaw Boakye but to the court until the final determination of their suit. They also wanted the court to inspect the property to ascertain the number of tenants and also whether or not they had been paying the rent.