Individual chiefs can’t handle chieftaincy matters — Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal has held that the Awadada of the Anlo Traditional Area has no authority to appoint a committee to go into a chieftaincy matter.

It stated that the proper authority to do so was rather the Anlo Traditional Council.

The decision of the court was made in an appeal in the matter of Torgbui Dordzeavudzi Atsrifo II and others against the Committee of Inquiry into the Abor chieftaincy dispute and 14 others. 

The court, therefore, upheld the decision of the Denu High Court which declared null and void the decision of the Awadada over the Abor Chieftaincy dispute.  

The three-member panel was made up of Mr Justice F. Kusi-Appiah, who presided, Mr Justice F.G. Korbieh and Mr Justice Senyo Dzamefe.

Facts

Torgbui Dordzeavudzi Atsrifo Head of the Atsrifo Family of Abor and three principal members of the family brought up an action over the Abor chieftaincy dispute at the Keta Circuit Court.

The court, mindful of the fact that the case was related to chieftaincy, referred the matter to the Anlo Traditional Council upon mutual agreement between the plaintiffs and defendants. 

However, because the Anlo Traditional Council was itself embroiled in a chieftaincy dispute, the parties returned to the circuit court for further directives.

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The court, in the absence of the plaintiffs, directed the parties to go to the traditional council of Awadada of the Anlo State to resolve the matter.

The Awadada, on that basis, appointed a committee to go into the matter and arbitrate and the committee ruled in favour of the defendants, who went ahead to enstool a new chief.

Unhappy with the ruling, the plaintiffs challenged the decision at the Denu High Court which upheld their claim.

The defendants, including the Awadada, Torgbui Agbesi Awusu II and the committee he set up, sought the intervention of the Court of Appeal to overturn the decision of the Denu High Court.

Judgement

In its judgement, the Court of Appeal pointed out that individual chiefs did not have the powers to deal with chieftaincy matters, pointing out that the proper bodies were the judicial committees of traditional councils or regional and national houses of chiefs which had exclusive right to hear and determine cases affecting chieftaincy.  

It held that the committee established by the Awadada did not have the power to deal with the issue and therefore its purported decision was null and void.