AKUA AMPOMAA AMPONSEM VS SIMON ASARE-DUA

The wife Petitioner seeks to dissolve the marriage celebrated between herself and the Respondent pursuant to leave granted on 23rd April 2015. The Petitioner prays per the following reliefs: a. That the marriage celebrated between the parties on 7th December 2013 be dissolved.

b. The Respondent to pay an alimony of GH¢30, 000. 00. c. The Respondent to bear the entire cost of the petition.

The Respondent on the other hand prays per the following reliefs: a. That the marriage between the parties should be dissolved.

b. That the Petitioner is not entitled to alimony of GH¢30, 000. 00 because Respondent cannot afford that amount and is not in a position to pay that amount.

c. That Petitioner is not entitled to relief (c) and says that each party should bear their own costs.

According to the Petition, the issue of the marriage is six months old, that the Respondent deserted the matrimonial home after four months of marriage, that he is of an ungovernable character and incessantly provokes and insults the Petitioner’s family, that she cannot reasonably be expected to live with him and that attempts at settlement have proved futile.

The sum of the Respondent’s Answer is that he could not be said have deserted the matrimonial home since it was the Petitioner who left, that they only lived together for three months within which period she travelled to the United States and that she collected her personal effects after the presentation of the customary drinks to his father.

He attributes the breakdown of the marriage to the Petitioner maltreating his children and totally disrespecting himself and his mother amongst others.

The evidence of the Petitioner on oath is that after their customary marriage was converted into an ordinance one, she lived together in the matrimonial home with the Respondent who was a widower, his two children from a previous marriage and his mother.

She says that his mother criticised her culinary skills and consequently cooked for him and that anytime there was a misunderstanding between them, he would inform his mother to address the issue.

She alleges that she provided money for the upkeep of the house and that they were always arguing over money and decisions.

Since leaving the matrimonial home, she says he had only given her an amount of five hundred Ghana cedis (GH¢500. 00). It is her testimony that the last straw was that before leaving for the United States when she became pregnant, there was a misunderstanding between them