GhArticles.com Every News in Detail
A Kumasi High Court has ruled that Akosua Serwaa Fosuh cannot be declared the sole surviving spouse of the late highlife icon Daddy Lumba, citing insufficient evidence to support her claim.
The decision, delivered by Justice Dorinda Smith-Arthur, settles a dispute over which widow is legally entitled to perform the musician’s widowhood rites.
In court on Friday, November 28, it was established that Priscilla Ofori, widely known as Odo Broni, was customarily married to Daddy Lumba before his death. The court also confirmed that Akosua Serwaa had a customary marriage with him. However, a German marriage certificate presented by Serwaa as evidence of a civil marriage was rejected because it was only an extract and not the original document.
The judge ruled that both women should be recognised as surviving wives of the musician. She ordered that they must be acknowledged by the Abusuapanyin during the widowhood rites and emphasized that no individual should obstruct the removal or burial of Daddy Lumba.
The court also referenced an earlier decision dismissing Serwaa’s injunction seeking to halt funeral arrangements. It reinforced that, under Ghanaian customary law, the deceased’s body and burial rites fall under the authority of the matrilineal family.
