[1990]DLHC714 • June 25, 1990 • High Court
BARAKE vs. BARAKE
The petitioner and first respondent married in 1969 at the Sekondi-Takoradi City Council Marriage Registry and had four daughters. The first respondent later married a second woman in 1988 under the Muslim faith. The petitioner alleged bigamy and adultery against the first respondent, claiming the 1969 marriage was monogamous under the Marriage Ordinance (Cap 127) and thus the second marriage was invalid. The first respondent contended the 1969 marriage was a Muslim marriage permitting polygamy. The petitioner had converted to Islam after marriage but later reverted to Christianity. The dispute involved the validity of the marriages and custody of the children.
read moreJUDGMENT BROBBEY J. The petitioner and the first respondent were married on 25 March 1969. The marriage ceremony was conducted in the Sekondi-Takoradi City Council Marriage Registry. They cohabited in various places after the marriage, notably Takoradi, London and Lebanon. There are four daughters born out of the marriage. They are Mouna aged twenty years, Nadia aged sixteen years, Amoula aged nine years and lastly Naya aged eight years. On 13 August 1979 the first respondent instituted an action for a decree of divorce and custody of their first two children who were the only children they then had. According to the petitioner, the first respondent said that the 1979 petition was withdrawn and that was why she brought the instant petition. The first respondent’s attempt to have the instant petition struck out on account of the 1979 action was disposed of in the course of the trial. I do not need to take that issue up again, more especially since none of the counsel for the .....