Her Ladyship Dorinda Smith Arthur, the presiding judge, made the announcement during the ongoing hearing of the case in Kumasi on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
Evidence Presented and Witness Testimony
A total of five witnesses have testified in the case so far, including three from the plaintiff's side (Mrs. Akosua Serwaah Fosu's team), and one each from the First Defendant (Abusua Panin Kofi Owusu) and the Second Defendant (Priscilla Ofori).
The court formally admitted the original civil marriage certificate between the plaintiff and the deceased, along with other documents, into evidence as requested. However, counsels for both the First and Second Defendants raised concerns about the certificate's authenticity.
Contradictory Marital Claims
During the cross-examination of Mr. James Beniako Boateng, a Tax Analyst and a witness for Ms. Ofori, a significant detail emerged regarding the musician's marital status.
Mr. Boateng asserted that, to his knowledge, the late Daddy Lumba had dissolved his marriage with the plaintiff, Mrs. Akosua Serwaah Fosu. He explained that during the musician’s marriage ceremony with the Second Defendant, Priscilla Ofori, on April 10, 2010, the deceased "stated emphatically" to Ms. Ofori’s family that his marriage to Mrs. Akosua Serwaah Fosu had been legally ended.
Mr. Boateng confirmed his presence at the 2010 ceremony, stating, “I was there to represent my wife who is a sister to Priscilla Ofori.”
Despite the musician's verbal assurance, Mr. Boateng admitted that the deceased did not present any document as proof of the dissolution of the civil marriage with the plaintiff to the Second Defendant's family. He also noted that media was not permitted to take photographs at the ceremony for publication.
Details of Second Relationship
Recounting the history of the relationship between Ms. Ofori and Daddy Lumba, Mr. Boateng stated that he first met Ms. Ofori in 2006 during her final year of secondary school. He noted that the deceased later asked Ms. Ofori to drop out of her nursing school studies in her second year, which she did.
The deceased and Ms. Ofori maintained a relationship for four years before marrying and now have six children. After their marriage, they initially resided at Tantara Hills in Accra before moving to their matrimonial home in East Legon, Accra, in 2016.
Mr. Boateng addressed claims about the musician's health, stating he once saw the deceased in a wheelchair after his spine surgery in 2013, but did not witness him bedridden, contrary to other reports.
He further testified that in 2018, when the plaintiff visited Ghana for her deceased mother’s funeral rites, the late Daddy Lumba instructed Ms. Ofori to prepare the house at Tantara Hills for the plaintiff's reception. Mr. Boateng stressed that Ms. Ofori performed this duty "not as a maid but as the current wife of the late Daddy Lumba."
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