…Half-brother alleges forgery and fake signatures in property grab

Three individuals, including a half-brother of veteran lawyer and former Council of State member Sam Okudzeto, have mounted a fierce legal battle over their mother’s estate, with grave allegations of fraud, forgery, and conflict of interest against him, his daughter, Esine Okudzeto and their law firm.

Peter Kweku Okudzeto, on his own behalf and on behalf of his two maternal siblings, Thomas Sekou and Felicia Sekou, children of the late Madam Christiana Aku Siaw Sappor, is accusing Sam Okudzeto, 89, and the others of using forged documents and fraudulent schemes to appropriate property belonging to their late mother’s estate unlawfully.

Madam Siaw Sappor passed away in 2004, and according to the plaintiffs, her properties, which include valuable real estate in North Ridge, Accra, and other assets in the capital, have been improperly diverted through questionable legal manoeuvres, including the undervaluing of some of them.

Also mentioned in the lawsuit is Edem Kodzo Okudzeto, a lawyer and the son of Sam Okudzeto. Edem, the writ also suggested played an active role in the alleged scheme to appropriate the properties using fake Wills procured from the UK with questionable signatures of Dr Daniel Narh Siaw.

Sam Okudzeto, who is identified as a former legal counsel for the deceased, allegedly orchestrated the scheme with some relatives of the late Dr Daniel Narh Siaw, who was appointed executor of the will. Eric Akwetey-Siaw Sappor of Kotobabi – Accra and Charles Noble Doe Acolatse, who is based in the UK, are also defendants in the lawsuit. The Herald is informed that they, along with the former Council of State Member and his daughter, have yet to respond.

Peter Okudzeto, a lawyer, is the biological child of the late Madam Christiana Aku Siaw Sappor, the elder sister of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore and a beneficiary of the Estate of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore; therefore, Peter and his maternal siblings are the biological nephews and nieces of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore and are the beneficiaries of the estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore.

“The 1st Defendant claims to be a Bible believing Christian. He is a lay preacher, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association, a former lecturer in Legal Ethics and Advocacy at the Ghana School of Law, Makola, Accra, a former member of the Council of State, one-time President of the Christian Lawyers Association of Ghana, former Past Director of Rotary Club International, former President of Ridge Church, a member of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council, a Notary Public and a Senior Advocate of Ghana (S.A.G) among others”.

The 2nd Defendant is a Law Firm called Sena Chambers in Accra, founded by Sam Okudzeto.

The 3rd Defendant is a Lawyer by profession and the daughter of Mr. Sam Okudzeto. She is also the Deputy Managing Partner of her father’s law firm, from which she practices. She is also a Lecturer in Legal Ethics and Advocacy at the Ghana School of Law and a former member of the Rules of Court Committee of the Ghana Judicial Service (2007–2010). She is also a purported beneficiary of the Estate of the late Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw and a purported grandniece of the late Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw.

The 4th Defendant is a Contractor by profession and a beneficiary of the Estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore through his late father, Eric Tei Akwetey. He is also a purported beneficiary of the Estate of the late Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw.

Acolatse, the 5th Defendant, who formerly worked as an assessor with the British Railway in the United Kingdom, is now a pensioner domiciled in the United Kingdom. He is also a British citizen with Ghanaian heritage, as both his late parents were of Ghanaian descent. He is a purported nephew and purported beneficiary of the purported Estate of Dr. Narh Siaw. The 5th defendant is neither a member of Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore’s family nor Dr. Narh Siaw’s.

Peter Okudzeto states that on or around April 25, 2008, the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore died in a tragic motor accident on the Accra-Aflao Road and was buried in the family cemetery at Elavanyo near Ada-Foah in the Ada East District. Her only adopted son, Johnny Rickenbach, died earlier in Australia. He predeceased her in or around 1980.

Nothing could be further from the truth in the sense that the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Defendants, as well as Edem Kodzo Okudzeto, are not family members of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore, her siblings, nieces and nephews and, therefore, do not know their family members, yet were present when said Will was read.

Peter and his siblings insist they were never invited to the Will reading, and questioned which family members were present, at which High Court registry, and under whose authority.

Peter intends to subpoena the Registrar of the High Court to testify and produce documents regarding his alleged role in the grand scheme, which was poorly executed, in the fraudulent obtaining of the purported Letters of Administration with the Will annexed.

In the application for Letters of Administration filed by the 4th Defendant concerning his late father’s estate, Franklin Korley Akwetey, the first cousin of both Peter Okudzeto and the 4th Defendant, was nominated by the 4th Defendant as the head of the family in the Takoradi section. Peter Okudzeto revealed contacting the said Franklin Korley Akwetey, who explicitly denied being present or invited to any reading of a Will at any High Court.

Peter Okudzeto and the other beneficiaries were originally five (5) siblings, namely: Emmanuel Thomas Sekou, Felicia Theodora Sekou, Peter Kweku Okudzeto, Patricia Mawusi Okudzeto and Godsgift Kwame Okudzeto. Patricia Mawusi Okudzeto died on May 31, 2019 and was buried on August 24, 2019, at the Garden of Peace Cemetery – Lashibi. The Plaintiff, together with his nephew, Christian Ofoe Okudzeto-Ahadjie, who is also the eldest child of Madam Patricia Mawusi Okudzeto, are the main administrator of the Estate of Madam Patricia Mawusi Okudzeto.

Peter Okudzeto averred that his siblings, namely, Emmanuel Thomas Sekou and Felicia Theodora Sekou, have no blood relationship with Mr. Sam Okudzeto, the founder of the first defendant Law Firm.

Peter Okudzeto does not share any blood relationship with Mr. Sam Okudzeto and his daughter, the 3rd Defendant, on their maternal side, which includes the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore and the late Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw. However, the Plaintiff, together with his two other siblings, namely the late Patricia Mawusi Okudzeto and Godsgift Kwame Okudzeto, has a blood relationship with Mr. Sam Okudzeto. In the sense that they, together with Mr. Sam Okudzeto, are children of the late Benjamin Agbakpe Okudzeto. They share a common father with Mr. Sam Okudzeto, but have different mothers. Peter Okudzeto is not a member of Mr. Sam Okudzeto’s maternal family. By parity of reasoning, Mr. Sam Okudzeto and the 3rd Defendant are also not members of the Plaintiff’s maternal family.

Peter Okudzeto disclosed that his late maternal grandfather and grandmother had seven (7) children, who by order of birth are Beatrice Siaw Sappor, Alexander Siawtey Siaw-Sappor, Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor, Christiana Aku Siaw-Sappor (Plaintiff’s mother), Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore (their late Aunt whose Estate is the subject matter), Eric Teye Akwetey Siaw (4th Defendant’s father) and Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw.

Peter Okudzeto avers that their Aunt, Beatrice Siaw-Sappor, and uncles, Alexander Siawtey Siaw-Sappor and Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor, died earlier in time before their Aunt, the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore. Peter Okudzeto avers that the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore was survived by three (3) of her siblings, namely – Plaintiff’s mother, Christiana Aku Siaw Sappor, Eric Tei Akwetey Siaw (father of the 4th Defendant) and Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw.

Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw was a British citizen of Ghanaian heritage who had been domiciled in the United Kingdom for over sixty (60) years. He owned no property whatsoever, not even a millimetre or one square inch of land or any property at all in Ghana. Peter Okudzeto will tender in evidence at the trial email communications between Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw and Mr. Sam Okudzeto regarding the estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore.

Peter Okudzeto asserts that the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore left behind a substantial estate comprising landed properties in Accra, Spintex Road, Osudoku, Ayi Mensah, and Ada. This Estate includes houses and office buildings such as the famous and imposing National Cash Registry Building, also known as the “NCR House”, and the Jet House located in Adabraka.

Peter Okudzeto declares that upon the tragic death of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore, the children of their late Uncle, Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor, on the blind side of the family and without the consent and authority of the family, applied to the Tema High Court for Letters of Administration.

Peter Okudzeto affirms that, when the surviving siblings of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore namely, Christiana Aku Siaw Sappor (Mother of the Plaintiffs), Eric Tei Akwetey (Father of the 4th Defendant) and Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw got wind of the nefarious, clandestine and illegal attempt by the children of their late Brother, Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor (who died in 1963), the 1st Defendant, who was the then head and managing partner of the 2nd defendant Law firm was instructed to caveat the said Letters of Administration granted to the children of the late Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor.

The Plaintiff’s two (2) surviving uncles, acting for and on behalf of themselves and their late sister, the Plaintiff’s mother (Christiana Aku Siaw Sappor), brought an action before the Tema High Court against the children of Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor. All relevant documents relating to the estate were handed over to the 1st Defendant Law Firm to enable them to prosecute the action effectively.

Peter Okudzeto stated that the children of Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor intended to obtain the Letters of Administration fraudulently, to disinherit the actual beneficiaries, and to evade Estate duties due to the State. As such, they somehow left out certain properties that form part of the Estate. In the process, some properties, such as the NCR House, which forms part of the estate, were not declared, and estate duties thereon were not paid.

Peter Okudzeto maintained that by a judgment of the High Court of Tema, dated November 22, 2011, in Suit No. E7/7/09, Eric Tei Akwetey Siaw (father of the 4th Defendant), Christian Aku Siaw Sappore, and Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw were held by the Court to be the rightful persons and beneficiaries under the Ada patrilineal system of inheritance to be granted Letters of Administration of the Estate of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw-Sappor. The Court of Appeal further upheld the above judgment in the Civil Appeal No. H1/161/16.

Sam Okudzeto then used the Inventory of the declared Estate of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore filed by the children of the late Charles Tetteh Siaw-Sappor as the platform to obtain a new Letters of Administration for the surviving siblings, whom the court declared as the legitimate beneficiaries of the Estate of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore.

Peter Okudzeto states that before judgment was given in favour of the surviving siblings of the late Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore, his mother died in 2010. Thereafter, the court directed that a Letter of Administration be issued to the surviving siblings. Since Plaintiff’s mother died before the said judgment, Letters of Administration were issued in the joint names of the two surviving siblings, namely, Eric Tei Akwetey-Siaw and Dr Daniel Narh Siaw, excluding their late mother, for the estate to be administered for and on behalf of the surviving siblings and Plaintiff’s mother’s children.

Peter Okudzeto stated that on January 12, 2016, Eric Tei Akwetey-Siaw, the father of the 4th Defendant, passed away. After 2016, Dr Daniel Narh Siaw, whose purported Will and Estate is the subject matter of the suit, became the sole administrator of the estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw-Sappor because his two other siblings had passed away without the distribution of the estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw-Sappor.

Peter Okudzeto declared that when Dr Daniel Narh Siaw became the sole administrator of the estate, he decided to administer the estate democratically.

He informed Peter Okudzeto and his siblings of his mistrust of the Lawyers of the Estate, i.e., the 1st and 3rd Defendants. It is against this background that he informed the 3rd Defendant not to communicate with him by phone and that all communications with him were to be by email, so that there would be a paper trail between him and the 1st and 2nd Defendants. To foster transparency in his role as the only surviving Uncle and the children of his departed siblings who have stepped into the shoes of their departed mother and father, he decided to forward all email communications unknown to the 1st Defendant, 2nd Defendant Law Firm and 3rd Defendant to the Plaintiff’s nephew, Christian Ofoe Okudzeto-Ahadjie and Plaintiff’s siblings. Plaintiffs therefore have a tidal wave of emails that will be tendered in evidence during the trial, and Christian Ofoe Okudzeto-Ahadjie will also be testifying at the trial.

A copy of the letter written to that effect by Justice Supreme Court Judge Nene Amegatcher, a partner at the 2nd Defendant’s chamber, will be tendered during the trial. Several emails and other documents will be presented to the court to demonstrate that the individuals, especially Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw, whose properties Mr. Sam Okudzeto allegedly appropriated, raised concerns about his trustworthiness during their engagement with him, and therefore opted for a particular means of communication for evidence sake.

Peter Okudzeto is seeking a declaration that the purported Will and last testament of Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw is a forgery, a Declaration that the said Letters of Administration with a fraudulent Will annexed dated July 25, 2024, was fraudulently procured by the Defendants, therefore, null and void.

Furthermore, the three want a declaration that Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw died intestate and that his biological Children and not the Applicants were the proper persons to apply for Letters of Administration from the Court.

A Declaration that the Defendants grossly undervalued the purported properties of Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw to evade the payment of the actual quantum of Estate Duty and Inheritance tax due to the Government of Ghana and the United Kingdom.

A declaration that the activities of the Defendants amount to intermeddling with the estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore and the purported Estate of Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw, and as such, they must suffer the penalties prescribed by law.

A declaration that the purported valuation of the purported Estate of Dr Daniel Narh Siaw, which was the fulcrum to the grant of Letters of Administration to the purported Executors/Administrators, was fraudulently procured.

An order for perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd and 3rd Defendants from acting as the Lawyers for the Estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw. An order for the revocation of the Grant of Letters of Administration with fraudulent Will annexed dated July 25, 2024, to the Defendants to administer the Estate of Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw (deceased).

An order to restrain the Defendants from holding themselves as Administrators/ Executors of the Estate of Dr. Daniel Narh Siaw (deceased).

A perpetual injunction directed at the 3rd and 4th Defendants restraining them from dealing with any properties of the Estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore and the purported estate of the late Dr Daniel Narh Siaw until the final determination of this suit.

An order that if the Defendants and Executors have already disposed of any of the properties of the estate, the current market value should be determined by a certified valuer appointed by the Court, should serve as the basis of the calculation of Plaintiffs’ interest in the property with interest thereon to be paid to Peter Okudzeto and his maternal siblings.

An order directed to the 1st Defendant Law Firm to hand over all documents in their possession in respect of the estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore to Peter Okudzeto and other actual beneficiaries of the Estate of Baby Angelina Mamle Siaw Sappore.

Peter Okudzeto and his siblings also want the costs, including Legal Fees, as well as any other relief the court deems fit.

The post Sam Okudzeto, Daughter, Law Firm, others sued for inheritance fraud appeared first on The Herald ghana.

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