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April 14, 2025
DISTRICT COURT
GHANA
CORAM
This judgment is in respect of a love affair gone sour, on which shoulders both parties herein have importuned the court to sort out the messy consequences of their marriage which has unravelled. The Roman poet Virgil in his Eclogues asserts that “Omnia vincit Amor” which means love conquers all things. The idiom “Love conquers all” means that love is a powerful force that can overcome any obstacle or difficulty. It suggests that when two individuals are deeply in love with each other, their bond and affection can triumph over challenges, conflicts, or adversities that they may encounter in life. Unfortunately, the empirical evidence from divorce litigation disproves this assertion. If indeed love conquers all, the parties herein would have resolved their matrimonial difficulties or differences.
The Petitioner per her petition for divorce filed on the 22nd day of July, 2024, claims against the Respondent for the following reliefs:
a. An order dissolving her ordinance marriage to the Respondent as having broken down beyond reconciliation.
b. An order giving her custody of her three (3) children she had with
Respondent.
c. An order that Respondent pays to Petitioner a sum of GH¢100,000.00 (one hundred thousand Ghana Cedis) being Reasonable compensation for all the
stress, pain and sacrifice Petitioner put into the marriage.
d. An order that Respondent pays an amount of GH¢1,500.00 per month being
maintenance for Petitioner’s thee children.
e. An order that Respondent contributes to paying the school fees, educational
materials, and canteen fees of the children.
f. Cost of the action.
a. An Order of the Court dissolving the ordinance marriage contracted between the Parties in July, 2009 at the Gowrie Catholic Church in the Bongo Parish as having broken beyond reconciliation.
b. An Order granting custody of the three (3) children of the household (two of whom are already with the Respondent) to the Respondent with reasonable access to the Petitioner as the best interest of these children is comparably guaranteed with the Respondent.
c. An Order directed at the Petitioner to pay the Respondent an amount of Two Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢2,000.00) f
AI Generated Summary
The parties, both teachers, entered a customary marriage in 2008 and converted it to an ordinance marriage at the Gowrie Catholic Church in Bongo Parish in 2009. They have three children—Amanda, Stanislaus, and Danee/Elizabeth—and have lived apart since 2015. Competing 2024 petitions sought dissolution, custody, maintenance, and compensation. The District Magistrate determined that while the Petitioner did not prove unreasonable behavior under section 2(b), the statutory facts of diligent but failed reconciliation efforts and at least two years of living apart established breakdown beyond reconciliation. Applying the Children’s Act and prioritizing best interests, the court maintained the status quo: Amanda and Stanislaus remain with their father, with Petitioner’s access, and Danee stays with her mother, with Respondent’s access. The court ordered Respondent to pay GH¢500 monthly maintenance for Danee and to bear educational and medical expenses (with Petitioner’s support); it dismissed Respondent’s GH¢100,000 special damages claim for lack of proof and awarded Petitioner GH¢30,000 financial provision under section 20 of Act 367. The marriage was dissolved; other reliefs were dismissed; no costs were awarded.