BLAY J.S.C.: The appellants who were plaintiffs in the court below together claimed against the respondent £G5,000 damages for false imprisonment. It appears from the evidence that the appellants are important citizens of the town of Kwabeng in the Akim Abuakwa traditional area, of which the respondent is the chief.
The appellants’ case was that the respondent on the 28th October, 1961, made a false charge against them to the police whereupon they were arrested, detained and subsequently escorted through the streets of Kwabeng to the Ahenfie, the residence of the respondent; that after their detention lasting for about two hours, i.e. from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., they were released by the police who said they could find nothing against them as the respondent refused to prefer any formal charge against them. The defence of the respondent was that he did not cause the arrest of the appellants or any of them.
The action was tried before Ollennu J. (as he then was) in the High Court, Accra, and t…