APALOO J.: In this action the first plaintiff who is the present occupant of the Asuboa stool, claims from the defendants various sums of money which he alleges to be due to his stool as customary cocoa tribute. The second plaintiff is the local council with jurisdiction over Asuboa and claims that it has been delegated power by the Administrator of Stool Lands acting under the Ashanti Stool Lands Act, 1958,1 to collect revenue on Asuboa stool lands and that it was entitled to join this action to protect its interest. Its status has been challenged but I shall deal with that aspect of the matter at a later stage.
Before I deal with the extensive and somewhat difficult points of law which have been argued in this case, it is necessary to resolve the disputed facts first. All the defendants have been sued as the elders of the stool of Muramura. The seventh defendant is in fact the present Odikro of that village. There is not a great deal of description of Muramura but it seems to be in o…