The long-running legal battle over who qualifies as the lawful surviving spouse of the legendary highlife musician Charles Kwadwo Fosu, popularly known as Daddy Lumba, came to a dramatic end in Kumasi on Thursday when the High Court (General Jurisdiction 5) dismissed a claim filed by the musician’s first partner, Akosua Serwaa, seeking to be declared his sole legal wife.
In a packed courtroom filled with family members, supporters and media, Her Ladyship Justice Mrs Dorinda Smith Arthur (PhD) delivered a detailed 74-page judgment that firmly rejected Ms Serwaa’s assertion that she and the late musician contracted a civil marriage, making her the only surviving spouse.
The court held that she failed to provide credible proof of any civil or ordinance marriage between herself and the deceased.
According to the ruling, no valid civil marriage existed between Ms Serwaa and Lumba.
What existed, the court said, was a customary marriage under Ghanaian traditional law — a form of marriage that does not extinguish the possibility of additional spouses.
As a result, Ms Serwaa could not claim exclusivity as the late musician’s only wife.
The judgment also affirmed that another woman long linked to the musician, Priscilla Ofori — popularly known as Odo Broni — is herself a valid customary wife of the late singer.
This recognition places both women on equal legal footing as surviving spouses.
Her Ladyship Justice Smith Arthur highlighted key evidence presented during the trial, including a video recording from Daddy Lumba’s 60th birthday celebration, which the court admitted as an exhibit.
In the video, the celebrated musician publicly acknowledged both women as his wives — a gesture the judge said reflected his intention for harmony between them during his lifetime.
The judge further noted that the document Ms Serwaa presented as proof of a civil marriage in Germany lacked authenticity, certification and verifiable identity.
The document was an extract, not an original certificate, and was never authenticated at Ghana’s embassy as required for recognition of foreign civil marriages.
The court therefore ruled that it had no evidentiary value.
By failing to produce an original certificate or meet legal requirements for validating foreign marriages, Ms Serwaa, the court found, could not prove her claim.
Her petition — filed on October 16, 2025 — sought to block Odo Broni and the rest of the musician’s family from recognising any other spouse and to obtain the exclusive right to perform widowhood rites.
The court dismissed that claim in its entirety.
In her ruling, Her Ladyship Justice Smith Arthur declared both Akosua Serwaa and Priscilla Ofori (Odo Broni) as the legitimate surviving spouses of the late musician under customary law. She ordered the Abusuapanin and the family of Daddy Lumba to recognise both women and allow them to participate in the widowhood rites of the deceased icon.
The court further held that the family retains the traditional authority to determine how the rites will be performed and which responsibilities fall to which spouse — a position grounded in customary practice.
Justice Smith Arthur emphasised that the ruling was intended not only to settle the immediate dispute but also to educate Ghanaians on the legal distinctions between civil and customary marriages and the importance of proper documentation.
She encouraged the parties to maintain peace and work together to ensure a dignified burial for the highlife legend, whose influence on Ghanaian music spans more than four decades.
Certified copies of the 74-page judgment will be available to the parties on December 1, 2025.
The ruling brings temporary closure to one of the most closely watched family disputes in recent years — a case that has drawn national attention due to the stature of the late musician and the complexity of Ghana’s marriage laws.
