March 2, 2023
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Dr. Gilbert Anyetei, a Ghanaian gynaecologist, petitioned in 2009 to dissolve his marriage to Susan, both then resident in South Africa. The High Court dissolved the marriage expeditiously and awarded Susan half of an extensive portfolio of South African and Ghanaian properties, and ordered Gilbert to discharge mortgages on assets awarded to her. The Court of Appeal largely reversed, citing insufficient proof of contribution, lack of jurisdiction over foreign immovables, and corporate separateness of Kudiabor Investment Co., and correcting a perceived misreading of Article 22’s equitable distribution mandate. Susan appealed. The Supreme Court, after directing further submissions on extra-territorial jurisdiction, held that the claims fell within equity-based exceptions to the Mozambique rule because they sought in personam relief against a spouse without disputing title. Clarifying that Article 22 requires equitable, case‑by‑case division, the Court found Susan contributed through earnings, domestic support, and joint acquisitions, applied equality‑is‑equity due to indeterminate proportions, struck down the mortgage‑liability order, allocated specific properties and vehicles to Susan, and awarded US$50,000 alimony. The appeal succeeded in part.
PWAMANG JSC: -
My Lords, on 10th June, 2009, the petitioner/appellant/respondent (the husband)commenced divorce proceedings against the respondent/respondent/appellant (the wife) in the High Court, Accra.
At the time of filing the case, the parties were both Ghanaians resident in the Republic of South Africa.
The marriage itself was contracted under the Marriages Ordinance, 1951 Rev (Cap 127) on 24th October, 1990 in Accra.
They have two children between them who were aged 17 years and 11 years.
The husband was a medical doctor trained in Ghana and worked with the Ghana Health Service briefly before re-locating to South Africa to seek greener pastures.
The wife is a biochemist by training and left Ghana to join the husband in South Africa.
Initially, the husband worked as a government medical officer in South Africa.
He subsequently embarked on further medical studies in South Africa and qualified as a specialist gynaecologist. After that he set up private medical practice there with a Ghanaian medical doctor as his partner.
When the wife arrived in South Africa, she first worked with a brewery as a biochemist but she later resigned to operate a hairdressing saloon of her own in that country.
The grounds the husband pleaded in his petition for the divorce were that the wife had been unfaithful and was also disrespectful of him for a long time so the marriage was broken down beyond reconciliation and they could no longer live together as husband and wife.
He said attempts had been made at reconciliation but all failed.
The wife in her answer filed on 4th August, 2009, while denying being unfaithful and disrespectful, counter accused the husband of infidelity and mentioned the names of two women that the husband was involved with outside the marriage and stated that he had two children with one of the women.
She pleaded that the husband had moved out of the matrimonial home and was living with one of the women.
She also said that efforts by members of the two families to reconcile them failed even after they travelled from Ghana to South Africa to meet with both of them.
She consequently counterclaimed for dissolution of the marriage, custody of the children and as follows; (iii) That Respondent shall pray for 50% of all the properties and other items standing between them as all were jointly acquired by the Parties during the subsistence of the marriage.
After pleadings closed, the husband filed an application to set down the cause for trial