Throw out Appeals Court decision on our lands – Achimota School to Supreme Court

Kobina Hughes, chairperson of the legal subcommittee of the Achimota School Board of Governors has charged the Supreme Court to throw out an Appeals Court decision and order a rehearing of the land encroachment case it is pursuing.

He made this call at a press conference organized by the Board on November 3, 2017.

The legal counsel of the Board, Kobina Hughes argued that the Appeals Court failed to heed their submissions, particularly the issue of fraud.

“There are two or three issues that we looked that. The question of capacity and we are confident that we can win the argument. The question then came up as to whether we had knowledge of what happened when the dispute first emerged between the Lands Commission and the stool. And we say we have evidence to show we did not have knowledge of that decision. So again, we are confident that we can persuade the Supreme Court on that ground,” he explained.

He also elaborated on the fact that the Appeals Court did not address the Board’s allegation of fraud against Osu, stating that ‘the previous decisions were obtained fraudulently’.

“Fraud is a very serious matter and we expect that the case be thrown out immediately and reheard because fraud, as they say in past decisions, vitiates everything. Everything has to start again,” he added.

Mr. Hughes said that the Board expects the Supreme Court to be more robust about the issue of fraud, adding that their interest in the case is not for their personal benefit but for the benefit of other similarly vulnerable institutions.

“This is not just about Achimota School. It’s about the encroachment on the lands held by many public institutions – universities, hospitals. It is not just on own behalf but on behalf of mother Ghana and future students of our school”.

Achimota SHS has been in a legal battle with the Osu Stool for some years now over the encroachment of lands belonging to the school.