Written By: Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent
The Kumasi High Court in Ghana delivered a momentous decision on November 28, 2025. It legally recognized both Odo Broni (Priscilla Ofori Atta) and Akosua Serwaa Fosuh as spouses of the late highlife legend Daddy Lumba (Charles Kwadwo Fosu). This ruling marks a critical juncture in Ghanaian family law. This landmark ruling, which effectively ends months of bitter legal feuding over who is the rightful widow, is a masterful navigation of Ghana’s plural legal system. By recognizing both a German-contracted civil marriage and a long-term customary union, the court appears to have prioritized substantive justice over rigid statutory formality.
The Beginning of the Battle
Significantly, the court had previously ruled on an interlocutory injunction filed by Akosua Serwaa to halt the funeral, stating that under customary law, the deceased’s body ultimately belongs to the extended family, irrespective of the marriage type. Lawyer William Kusi, representing Akosua Serwaa, was previously quoted regarding the injunction loss: “The court held that under Asante tradition, the authority over the late musician’s remains rests with his extended family, and not his wife, but we were confident the final ruling on marital status would prevail.” That early ruling established the family’s control, setting the stage for the final verdict on marital status.
A Constitutional and Legal Watershed
The decision to acknowledge both marital unions simultaneously is a profound step with vast implications for Ghanaian jurisprudence, which recognises Customary, Islamic, and Ordinance (civil) marriages.
The Challenge to Legal Hierarchy
The cornerstone of the challenge lies in the Ordinance marriage, which, both in Ghana and Germany, is strictly monogamous. Section 262 of Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), criminalises bigamy. Traditionally, a subsisting Ordinance marriage incapacitates a person from contracting a subsequent valid customary marriage. Akosua Serwaa’s legal team insisted that without a formal court decree of divorce, her Ordinance marriage remained valid, making Odo Broni’s subsequent union void. “The law on Ordinance marriage termination is unequivocal; a court order is required,” stressed her legal representative during the hearing.
However, the defence for Odo Broni and the Abusuapanyin (head of the extended family), Kofi Owusu Fosu, argued that Serwaa’s customary marriage had been dissolved through the traditional act of “returning the head drinks,” recognising separation. The Abusuapanyin stated, “Our custom recognises Odo Broni, who has raised the children of our son… The documents from a foreign land do not speak to the reality of his family life.” Odo Broni’s counsel, Nana Ama Asantewa, commented, “This verdict is a victory for the six children and for customary practice. The court wisely recognized the de facto reality of their family life over mere paper formality.”
The presiding judge, Dorinda Smith Arthur, reportedly observed that “simultaneous customary and civil marriages are redundant, as each is independently valid.” Legal analysts suggest this comment is the key to the ruling. It challenges the conventional view that the Ordinance marriage automatically supersedes customary unions. Instead, the court appears to have applied the 1992 Constitution’s principle of “justice, equity, and good conscience” by granting marital status to the customary spouse to prevent the social and financial disinheritance of Odo Broni and her six children.
German Marriage and Evidence
The court’s decision was significantly influenced by the fact that Akosua Serwaa failed to provide the original marriage certificates of the civil marriage from Germany, presenting only extracts. This lack of certified, original proof created sufficient doubt for the court to avoid a strict, monogamy-enforcing Ordinance ruling. The defence lawyers repeatedly challenged the documents, citing procedural errors and questioning their legitimacy under Ghana’s Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323).
Daddy Lumba’s Legacy and the Intestate Succession Law (PNDCL 111)
The dual recognition is expected to bring immediate clarity to the funeral arrangements and potentially to the complex issue of estate distribution. Legal experts confirm the ruling effectively makes both women eligible as “Surviving Spouses” under Ghana’s Intestate Succession Law (PNDCL 111). Under PNDCL 111, if Lumba died without a will, the surviving spouses and children are jointly entitled to 75% of the residuary estate: the surviving spouses share 18.75% equally, and the surviving children share 56.25%. This means both women will share the spousal portion, while Odo Broni’s six children will be the primary beneficiaries of the children’s portion.
This judgment is now poised to serve as a strong precedent, forcing future courts to equally weigh the social and customary reality of a relationship—such as long cohabitation and children—against the strict formal requirements of Ordinance law, especially in cases where the Ordinance documentation is challenged.
A leading marriage law expert, speaking on background, concluded, “This ruling represents a major shift. The High Court has essentially used the plural nature of our legal system to deliver social justice, affirming the constitutional right to culture over a legal technicality regarding documentation. It’s a pragmatic and culturally sensitive outcome that recognizes both the legal wife and the life-partner.”
For ordinary Ghanaians, the decision is seen as a victory for fairness. “This is a sensible ruling,” commented one Ghanaian on social media. “Daddy Lumba was a traditional man, and both women deserved recognition. The court stopped the family from further disgrace.”
The path is now clear for the music icon’s final rites, as both Akosua Serwaa and Odo Broni are entitled to perform the traditional widowhood rites, marking a peaceful, albeit legally complex, conclusion to a national saga.
