Former Attorney General, Joseph Kpenka, has called on Ghanaians to refrain from inclusive comments and wait for the authentication of the Will of the late Sir John making rounds.
According to Joseph Kpenka, the people should also wait for the outcome of investigations that has been launched by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources before passing judgement.
“For now, what I can say is that, we should wait for the authentication of what is in circulation then we can run commentary.”
Joseph Kpenka
The former Attorney General averred that if patience is not exercised on the matter, inconclusive comments may be made and findings will come out to prove otherwise.
“It’s so early to do conclusive discussion on the matter. We need to have all revelation by way of the investigation that is being done by the Ministry, then we can make informed comments on the matter.”
Joseph Kpenka
According to Joseph Kpenka, he is restrained in his commentary specifically about the Will of the late Sir John with reason being that, he is not privy to the original copy of the Will in circulation. Due to this, he stated that he is not able to authenticate the veracity of the Will and the content there of.
“My comments are largely speculative because I cannot conclusively say that what I find circulating on social media is the final Will and testament of the late Sir John.”
Joseph Kpenka
Joseph Kpenka questions acquisition of lands
Joseph Kpenka questioned if Sir John acquired all that he had through a legitimate process or he did it through an illegitimate process. “And when he mentions the Achimota Forest, is it an adjourning land or the forest itself because there are no demarcations there as I do know.”
“For the Will, its personal and he had the right as an astute lawyer to make a Will. With the land, I know that the President and the Lands Commission is working to unravel if the matter is true at all.”
Joseph Kpenka
Meanwhile, Private legal practitioner, Justice Abdulai has intimated that, the fact that a person’s name appears in a Will does not mean the properties bequeathed will indeed go to him or her.
The Lawyer explained that when it is legally verified that the property indeed belonged to the deceased, the named persons in a Will can then be rightful beneficiaries. Mr. Abdulai stated that anybody at all can Will any property to his surviving family and friends but this requires verification by established authorities regarding ownership.
Mr Abdulai commended the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resource for announcing its intention to probe the Will. “Indeed, the state has every right to intervene to identify whether or not any portions of its land has been the subject of a private Will.”
The legal practitioner noted that the state can always take back what rightly belongs to it. He added that it will be unlawful for any person to Will a property that does not belong to them.
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