November 28, 2025
By Isaac Nsiah Foster
A Kumasi High Court has ruled that Akosua Serwaa and Priscilla Ofori, popularly known as Odo Broni, are both surviving wives of the late highlife legend Charles Kwadwo Fosuh, widely celebrated as Daddy Lumba.
The suit was initiated by Akosua Serwaa Fosu, who asked the court to declare her the sole surviving spouse and the only person entitled to widowhood rights. She further requested an order restraining Odo Broni from presenting herself as the musician’s wife and preventing the head of the Ekuona family from recognizing her as such.
However, the court, presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Dorinda Smith Arthur, held that the plaintiff failed to meet the required standard of proof—particularly because she could not provide the original copies of the marriage certificate.
Justice Smith Arthur noted that the documents tendered “fell short of Sections 136 and 161,” which require the original marriage certificate from the Bornheim Marriage Registry along with certification from the Ghana Embassy in Germany. Instead, the plaintiff submitted only an excerpt.
The judge further ruled that under the Evidence Act, the plaintiff was expected to call “a recognised German civil marriage expert” to testify, a requirement she did not fulfill. She added that civil marriage in Germany “could not have been done by conduct nor proof of photos, especially in the era of Photoshop.”
On the issue of customary marriage, the court found no evidence to support the claim by the first defendant, Abusuapanin Kofi Owusu, that the marriage between Akosua Serwaa and Daddy Lumba had been dissolved. The judge described his testimony as unreliable and inconsistent.
The court also dismissed the argument that a letter purportedly sent by Mercer and Company—allegedly threatening divorce proceedings—proved that a divorce process had been initiated, stressing that such a letter did not constitute evidence of an actual filing.
In its final decision, the court affirmed both Akosua Serwaa and Odo Broni as legally recognized surviving spouses of the late musician.