14/04/2025
THE LAW OF SUCCESSION TO PROPERTY IN MATRILINEAL SYSTEM
The matrilineal systems of succession is traced through the mother, with all those descended from a common ancestress forming a matrilineage. By implication a man and his children must necessarily belong to different Matrilineage. A man's immediate matrilineage consists of himself, his mother, his full and uterine brothers and sisters,
His mother’s brothers and sisters, his maternal grandmother, his maternal grandmother's maternal grandmother etc. it is from this group that he can inherit and it is they who can inherit from him. On a man's death therefore the order of succession is divided into the following categories (i) his mother, his full and uterine brothers and sisters; (ii) the issue of his full and uterine sisters; (iii) his mother's full and uterine brothers and sister, (iv) the issue of his mother's full and uterine sisters; (v) his maternal grandmother etc. Clearly as in any other system of succession the existence of persons in the category closest to the deceased excludes the others and even within the categories the closedness in degrees is another ground for exclusion. For example in the first category, the existence of the mother should automatically exclude the full and uterine brothers and sisters.
Two observations emerge from this arrangement. The first and undoubtedly the most distinctive characteristic of the system is that a child cannot inherit from his father and children here include those born out of wedlock but were recognized by the deceased and treated as his children. If there is anything. repugnant in this rule it is its propensity to dissuade a man from acquiring property knowing that it would go to some relative of his mother's, or even to educate his own children on the ground that the child's property will go his mother's family.
From the point of view of the child, the rule cannot be dismissed immediately as being repugnant given that it could be possible that the uncle, from whom he succeeds, is richer than his own father. Furthermore although succession is matrilineal members of the communities live in the compounds of their various patrilineages, hence, the children live in their father's compound and this means that he has obligations towards them. A father in matrilineal communities has an unquestioned obligation to house, support and advance his children and these are the obligations which upon the death of a man intestate are taken over by the successor and which are enforceable against him In Kom it is incumbent on the Bobe or family head to provide each male child with farmland, a house and a wife.
If the rule that children are not entitled to their father's succession has been applied with ease in the case of a deceased male it has not been the same in the case of a deceased female. The rule according to which succession follows the. Woman’s bloodline implies that every woman is the beginning of a new family and the question arises whether her direct descendants should not be given priority in succession as against her matrilineal relatives. In Mills v. Addy Ollennu, J. ruled in favour of the descendants but apparently, only because there were no surviving members of the deceased's matrilineal family. This decision could not, therefore, be authority on the point, since a different decision might have been possible if there were matrilineal descendants of the deceased in existence.
This was the case in Krakue v. Kraba where the plaintiff, a brother of the deceased sued the daughter of the deceased for an account of rents from the property, and prayed for an injunction to restrain the defendant from interfering with his right. The defendant challenged the plaintiff's locus standi arguing inter alia, that he was not a member of the inheriting family. It was held by the Supreme Court of Ghana that the right to the immediate enjoyment vested in the immediate family, and that this consisted of all the matrilineal descendants of the mother of the deceased woman.
It seems, however, to be settled law that the issue of a deceased woman takes precedence over her matrilineal relatives, In Krakue v. Krabah Ollennu delivered a dissenting judgment in which he changed his earlier position in Mills v. Addy. Bentsi- Enchill favours succession by the descendants of a deceased woman. In a similar vein Woodman writes that «If a man and his female uterine cousin are the sole surviving matrilineal descendants of their grandmother, he belongs to the cousin's immediate family; but as soon as she has children, he ceases to belong to it....»The second observation which emerges from the order of succession is that men and women have equal succession rights, for not only are they entitled to share in the distribution of the estate, it is accepted as a rule that they can be family heads or successors. This is so in the Bakundu Balue matrilineal system. In The matter of Chief Moleke of Bafaka Village the sister of a deceased male was made successor as against his children. In Jemba v. Emilia, the nephew and niece were held to have inherited the two farms that belonged to their maternal uncle jointly, after the death of their mother, sister of the deceased.
A variation has however been noted in the Kom and other tribes in the North-West Region, which although purporting to practice matrilineal succession are only a variant of patrilieal systems. Even though the general rule that succession follows the woman's bloodline is respected, women find themselves in a position similar to their counterparts in the patrilineal tribes According to Professor Vubo, «A woman is almost confine' the role of producer of the lineage, ensuring lineage con tin i although she could intercede before the ancestral spirits for welfare of her household or usurp the right of exercising role of caretaker over her deceased brother's property.» woman can only usurp a position which ought to come to her as a matter of right. It means that in the absence of the ability to usurp, succession to property is by the maternal uncle or nephew. In default of nephews the search for a successor goes down the line to his first maternal cousins rather than his nieces. Only when no cousins are found, are nieces allowed to succeed after the fiat of a family council.
