A Kumasi High Court has ruled that Akosua Serwaa Fosuh cannot be recognised as the sole surviving spouse of the late highlife icon Daddy Lumba, following a legal dispute over who was entitled to perform the musician’s widowhood rites.
The decision, delivered by Justice Dorinda Smith-Arthur, concluded that the evidence presented in court did not establish Akosua Serwaa’s claim beyond reasonable doubt.
The case centred on competing assertions by two women, each seeking formal recognition as the lawful widow of the late artiste.
In its ruling on Friday, November 28, the court found that Priscilla Ofori, widely known as Odo Broni, had been customarily married to Daddy Lumba. It also accepted that Akosua Serwaa had entered into a customary marriage with him.
However, a German marriage certificate submitted by Akosua Serwaa as proof of a civil marriage was rejected after the court established it was merely an extract rather than an original document.
Justice Smith-Arthur therefore ruled that both women should be acknowledged as surviving wives and accorded the appropriate recognition by the Abusuapanyin during the performance of the widowhood rites.
She further emphasised that neither party should obstruct the removal and burial of the celebrated musician.
Earlier in the proceedings, the court dismissed an injunction application filed by Akosua Serwaa seeking to halt funeral preparations by the extended family.
The court reaffirmed the long-standing principle under Ghanaian customary law that the body and burial rites of a deceased individual fall under the authority of the matrilineal family
