Karen Baaba Sam, the young Ghanaian mother at the centre of a legal tussle over her six-year-old daughter, has filed a motion at the General Jurisdiction High Court in Accra to set aside what she describes as an “unlawfully and illegally obtained” court order.
The order in question allowed her former partner, Nana Kwadwo Adjei, to serve her with contempt proceedings by substituted service—an order she claims was granted without evidence of proper prior service attempts and in breach of her constitutional right to due process.
The motion, filed on Wednesday, July 9, 2024, is expected to be moved by Ms Baaba Sam’s legal team on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Disputed court order under scrutiny
In her detailed affidavit in support of the motion, Ms Sam states that on June 27, 2025, she discovered that an order for substituted service—relating to a contempt application filed by Mr Adjei on June 23—had been posted on the wall of her lawyers’ office.
The move, she says, was an attempt to “purportedly” serve her through her lawyers, without proper legal basis.
Upon investigating the court documents, she discovered that on the same day the contempt application was filed—just eight minutes later—Mr Adjei had submitted an ex parte application requesting substituted service.
“What is even more egregious,” Ms Sam deposed, “is that the record shows that on 23 June 2025 at 11:02 am, barely 8 minutes from the filing of the contempt application, the Applicant filed an ex parte application to serve me with the contempt application through substituted service.”
According to her, Mr Adjei’s application contained no proof of failed service attempts on her personally or through her lawyers—both of which are legal prerequisites for a substituted service order.
Violation of due process and prejudice alleged
Ms Sam argues that the Court’s decision to allow substituted service, especially through an ex parte hearing, violated her right to be heard and was tainted with prejudice against her.
She claims that the order of June 25, 2025, was made “unlawfully and illegally,” and has asked the court to set it aside entirely.
“There was no evidence furnished that any prior attempt had been duly authorised and made to serve the contempt application on my lawyers,” she stated.
“The ex-parte application for substituted service and the 25 June 2025 order of the Court offends the mandatory rules and the well-laid-out procedure for applying for and obtaining an order for substituted service.”
She maintains that such judicial actions have denied her the fair hearing guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution, and have emboldened Mr Adjei in what she claims is a pattern of harassment and legal manipulation.
Petition to Acting CJ cites systemic abuse
In a related development, Ms Baaba Sam has filed a petition with the acting Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, urging immediate intervention in what she calls “the continued abuse” of her and her daughter by Mr Adjei, allegedly aided by specific judges of the superior courts.
Dated July 1, 2025, the four-page petition is titled: “Reminder on Previous Petitions and Further Petition Against Continued Abuse by Mr Kwadwo Adjei and Some Judges.” Copies were also sent to President John Dramani Mahama, the Judicial Council, the Attorney-General, relevant High Court registrars, and both legal teams.
In the petition, Ms Sam laments the silence from the judiciary in response to earlier complaints she made and points out that despite assurances of action, the abuse she and her daughter have faced has continued unabated.
Years of alleged abuse come to light
Ms Baaba Sam first broke her silence about the abuse she endured in a public statement dated January 20, 2025.
In it, she described years of emotional, physical, and verbal abuse allegedly suffered at the hands of Nana Kwadwo Adjei—abuse she says started in 2016 when they first met.
Their relationship, she recounted, initially seemed loving, but quickly soured into a nightmare of control and violence.
By 2018, when she was pregnant with their daughter, the relationship had deteriorated to the point where Mr Adjei’s second son—who had moved in with the couple—left the home due to alleged beatings by his father.
Over time, Ms Sam says she became a regular victim of physical assault, often left with black eyes and facial injuries.
She claims a report was filed at the East Legon Police Station by her brother, but no action was taken.
Her detailed accounts suggest a wider pattern of domestic abuse and systemic failure to protect her and her child.
These claims now intersect with what she views as judicial complicity through questionable rulings that continue to disempower her in court.
Legal and human rights implications
Ms Baaba Sam’s legal challenge to the substituted service order and her appeal to the highest echelons of Ghana’s judiciary raise pressing questions about judicial independence, domestic violence protection, and access to justice for vulnerable women.
Legal experts have noted that the rules governing substituted service in contempt applications are stringent for a reason—designed to ensure that no individual is denied the opportunity to defend themselves in proceedings that may carry serious consequences, including imprisonment.
The outcome of this motion and the response from the acting Chief Justice may signal how Ghana’s legal system is prepared to respond to allegations of legal abuse intertwined with domestic violence—particularly when those allegations implicate not just individuals but systemic practices within the judiciary.
Awaiting the court’s response
As the July 24 hearing date approaches, all eyes will be on the General Jurisdiction High Court in Accra to determine whether Ms Baaba Sam’s motion to set aside the substituted service order will be granted—and whether the justice system will acknowledge what she insists is a dangerous misuse of legal power against her.
In the meantime, her fight continues—not just for custody of her daughter, but for recognition, justice, and protection in a system she says has failed her for far too long.
