The Hwakpo lands dispute in the Ada Traditional Area has evolved into one of the most enduring and closely watched customary land litigations in the region. Over several years, the matter has passed through different courts and enforcement processes, with the Ackweh Family consistently emerging victorious in key rulings concerning ownership, possession, and lawful occupation of the disputed lands.
For the Ackweh Family, the litigation is not merely a legal contest over territory, but a struggle rooted deeply in history, ancestry, customary law, and the preservation of a heritage that dates back generations.
The family traces its ownership of the Hwakpo lands through their great-grandmother, Adikwor Puplampu, also known as Adikwor Accam, a revered Djemaworyokwe (fetish priestess) whose story occupies a central place in the family’s history and customary identity.
According to traditional accounts, following a fetish invocation involving the Puplampu and Manyawe families, both families were condemned under customary processes. To expiate the Puplampu family and satisfy customary obligations, Nene Accam of Ananatsosisi gave Adikwor Puplampu to the Manyawe family as fetish ransom.
The family recounts that after fulfilling this servitude and eventually returning, Adikwor Puplampu was compensated in accordance with Ada customary law with the Hwakpo lands acquired from the Adibiewe Tribe, the Aborse lands acquired from the Kudragbe Tribe, and a cow as traditionally required under Ada custom.
According to the family, these lands became the lawful customary inheritance of Adikwor Puplampu and her descendants. Following her return, Adikwor Puplampu and her children, the Ackwerhs, settled permanently on the land, founded Hwakpo village, and have occupied the area from time immemorial. Generations of occupation, cultivation, settlement, and exercise of customary authority over the lands, the family argues, formed the foundation of their legal claims in the years that followed.
Disagreements later arose when rival claimants challenged the family’s ownership and sought to assert competing interests over portions of the land. What initially began as a customary disagreement eventually escalated into a prolonged legal battle spanning several years and multiple levels of the judicial system. The litigation centered largely on questions of customary ownership, lawful possession, inheritance, and trespass.
The initial suits focused on determining lawful ownership and possessory rights over portions of the Hwakpo lands. In these proceedings, the courts examined historical evidence, family lineage, traditional ownership arrangements, and acts of possession exercised over the years.
The Ackweh Family argued that they had maintained uninterrupted customary ownership and occupation of the lands inherited from Adikwor Puplampu. Evidence presented reportedly included testimonies from elders, traditional accounts, historical records, boundary descriptions, and longstanding acts of ownership recognized within the traditional area. The family further maintained that Adikwor Puplampu’s acquisition of the lands through customary compensation and settlement established a valid customary title that lawfully passed to her descendants.
In several of the early rulings, the courts are said to have affirmed the family’s possessory rights and recognized their lawful interest in portions of the disputed Hwakpo lands.
One of the most significant victories recorded by the Ackweh Family came in 2021 when the Tema High Court, presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Elizabeth Ankumah, entered judgment in favour of George A. Ackwerh, head of the Ackwerh Family of Hwakpo, in Suit No. E1/143/2014. The court granted reliefs sought by the family and declared that an approximately 891.446-acre parcel of land situated at Hwakpo and clearly delineated by surveyed boundaries was the property of the Ackwerh Family. The judgment was widely regarded within the area as a major affirmation of the family’s possessory and ownership rights over portions of the disputed lands.
In another legal victory in November 2021, the Sege District Court, presided over by His Lordship Narh Awah, dismissed a suit brought against the Ackwerh Family by opponents seeking to enforce an arbitration decision over a disputed parcel of land on which the family had constructed their home. The applicants had relied on proceedings before the queen mother of Matsekope, Naana Adu Akrofi I, but the court declined to enforce the claims against the Ackwerhs. The ruling further strengthened the family’s standing in the longstanding disputes surrounding both land ownership and legitimacy within Hwakpo.
The Ackwerh Family also secured another important legal breakthrough when the Tema High Court granted an interlocutory injunction restraining members of the Puplampu family and others from undertaking construction works or alienating portions of the disputed Hwakpo lands. The injunction, granted upon an affidavit filed by the head of the Ackwerh Family, effectively halted activities on portions of the disputed land and was viewed by supporters of the family as judicial recognition of the seriousness and legitimacy of their claims. Around the same period, the family was also reported to have prevailed in a boundary dispute involving the chief and elders of Addokope concerning portions of Hwakpo land.
Beyond the land litigation itself, the Ackwerh Family also recorded victories in the chieftaincy dimension of the dispute. In 2023, a four-member panel of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs reportedly confirmed the legitimacy of the Ackwerhs as rightful heirs to the Hwakpo stool after striking out an appeal challenging an earlier ruling of the Ada Traditional Council. The ruling was considered another important development in the wider dispute over traditional authority and custodianship of Hwakpo.
These judgments became significant turning points in the dispute, strengthening the legal standing of the family and reinforcing the historical and customary basis of their claims. For the Ackweh Family, the repeated court victories represented judicial recognition of both their ancestral inheritance and their longstanding occupation of Hwakpo village and adjoining lands.
Following some of the judgments, enforcement proceedings were initiated to ensure compliance with court orders. These included actions relating to possession, protection against encroachment, and the enforcement of injunctions against unauthorized occupation or development. The judicial enforcement measures further demonstrated the courts’ recognition of the Ackweh Family’s rights and the binding nature of earlier rulings delivered in their favour.
Family representatives have maintained that these enforcement actions were critical in preserving the integrity of the judgments and preventing continued trespass on the disputed lands.
Like many protracted land disputes in Ghana, the Hwakpo litigation witnessed attempts to overturn or challenge earlier rulings through appeals and fresh suits. However, the Ackweh Family insists that the overall trend of judicial decisions remained firmly in their favour.
Legal analysts familiar with customary land disputes note that repeated victories in successive proceedings often strengthen a party’s legal credibility, particularly where courts consistently rely on historical occupation, inheritance, settlement history, and evidence of customary ownership.
The Ackweh Family argues that the repeated affirmations by the courts have effectively settled the central ownership question surrounding significant portions of the Hwakpo lands.
Beyond the immediate dispute, the Hwakpo cases have become a reference point in discussions surrounding customary land ownership, family inheritance rights, and judicial enforcement within traditional communities. Observers say the litigation underscores the growing importance of documentary evidence, historical narratives, judicial clarity, and lawful enforcement in resolving customary land conflicts across Ghana.
For the Ackweh Family, the succession of favourable rulings is viewed not only as a legal triumph but also as a validation of their ancestral heritage and longstanding stewardship of the Hwakpo lands. Even as tensions and competing interests occasionally resurface, the family maintains that the courts have repeatedly and decisively spoken on the matter, consistently affirming their ownership and possessory rights over the disputed lands.