[1974]DLHC2261 • February 20, 1974 • High Court
BECKLEY vs. BECKLEY AND ANOTHER
The plaintiff, a Russian citizen and wife, filed an originating summons against her Ghanaian husband (first defendant) and his mother (second defendant) seeking custody of their infant son Edward Kofi Beckley, maintenance for the child, and maintenance for herself. The couple married in the Soviet Union in 1969, lived in Ghana, and separated in September 1973 due to marital differences. The husband removed the child from the matrimonial home to his mother's care without the wife's consent. The wife alleged the husband's involvement in juju practices and neglect, while the husband denied these allegations, accusing the wife of desertion and immoral conduct.
read moreThe plaintiff, in her originating summons, prayed specifically for the following reliefs, namely: (a) that the court may grant the plaintiff the custody of an infant, Edward Kofi Beckley; (b) that the court may grant reasonable maintenance for the support, care and education of the said infant, and (c) that the first defendant, who is the plaintiff’s husband, be ordered to pay to the plaintiff reasonable maintenance for her support. It should be noted that the summons was issued by a wife, as plaintiff, against her husband who is the first defendant. The husband’s mother is the second defendant. For convenience the plaintiff may hereinafter be referred to either as the wife or as the mother, the first defendant as the husband or as the father, and the second defendant as the grandmother. The wife is a Russian citizen and the husband is a Ghanaian. They were married on 9 July 1969, in the City of Kalinin in the Soviet Union where the husband was a medical student. The coupl...