McDan and another fined GH¢6,000 each for alleged trespassing incident
In a legal matter concerning alleged trespassing on a property at East Legon, a High Court has taken action against business magnate Dr. Daniel McKorley, Chairman, and CEO of McDan Group, and another individual.
The Court, presided over by Justice Rita Abena Abrokwa Doko, has ordered the defendants to pay GH¢6,000 in costs for filing late applications and attempting to delay the proceedings. The lawsuit was filed by Mr. Magnus A. L. De Souza, a businessman.
During the court process, lawyers for the defendants, Daniel McKorley and Joseph Nii Mensah Ashong, failed to appear on the designated date for Mr. De Souza to present his evidence-in-chief and undergo further cross-examination. The Court permitted Mr. De Souza to give his evidence-in-chief, and the proceedings were served on the lawyers for the defendants.
On subsequent dates, the defendants’ lawyer, Theophilus Donkor, filed an application to cross-examine Mr. De Souza, which led to an adjournment of the case to 31st July 2023. However, during this hearing, the defendants’ lawyer claimed that the absence on 4th July 2023 was due to an internal scheduling error, but the Court found their explanation irrelevant as they were properly served with the hearing details.
Mr. De Souza’s lawyer requested a cost of GHC50,000.00 due to the defendant’s repeated attempts to delay the proceedings and their consistent absence in court. Eventually, the Court awarded GHC6,000 against the defendants after their lawyer, Claudia Obeng, requested the cost to be reduced to GHC5,000, assuring that the defendants would show up for future hearings.
In his evidence-in-chief, Mr. De Souza claimed that the defendants had deployed land guards to trespass on his land and carry out construction. The defendants, however, refuted these claims, arguing that they had rightful ownership of the land, acquired by Ashong’s late father in 1974. They also argued that Mr. De Souza, being a non-Ghanaian, could not acquire an interest in the land for over 50 years, as it would be unlawful according to the Land Act, 2020, and the Constitution.
The case was adjourned to 3rd November 2023 to proceed with further proceedings.
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