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The funeral of celebrated highlife legend Daddy Lumba is expected to take place tomorrow, Saturday, December 13, after the applicants in the ongoing family dispute failed to meet the Accra High Court’s GH₵2 million payment directive. The court had ruled that if the amount was not paid by the stated deadline, the late musician’s body would be released by Transitions Funeral Home for burial.
Lawyers for Transitions Funeral Home indicated that they are awaiting the certified court order to enable them to proceed with all necessary funeral arrangements. This development marks a significant shift in the legal standoff that has surrounded the late musician’s burial for months.
The court’s latest ruling follows an earlier injunction that temporarily barred the family head from organising the funeral and also prevented Transitions from releasing Daddy Lumba’s remains. Lawyers for the applicants described the new order as “practically impossible,” arguing that the court had no jurisdiction to vary its initial ruling without providing formal notice. They proposed signing an undertaking to settle the GH₵2 million at a later date and cautioned that the sudden change could misinform the public.
Respondents strongly disagreed, insisting that GH₵2 million was inadequate given the expenses allegedly incurred in preparation for the funeral, including costs involving dignitaries, contractors, and other arrangements. They pushed for the amount to be increased to more than GH₵5 million and urged the court to allow the burial to proceed if the maternal family could not meet the financial directive.
The court clarified that the payment order does not apply to the Daddy Lumba LBG Foundation or the second respondent. However, it emphasised that failure to pay the GH₵2 million compels Transitions Funeral Home to release the body, effectively clearing the path for the funeral to go ahead while unresolved financial matters are addressed separately.
Preparations are therefore expected to move forward swiftly for tomorrow’s funeral, bringing a turning point to the long-standing legal and customary dispute surrounding the burial of the iconic musician, born Charles Kwadwo Fosu.
