[2024]DLHC18102 • April 22, 2024 • High Court
MARGARET DANKWAH vs. JACINTA ATAKORAH & INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN
The case concerns the dispute over the biological parentage of the 1st Defendant, Jacinta Atakorah, in relation to the late Frank Atakorah's estate. The Plaintiff, Margaret Dankwah, widow of the deceased, claims the 1st Defendant is not the biological child of the deceased and thus not entitled to a share of his estate. The 1st Defendant asserts she is the biological daughter of the deceased. The dispute arose after the deceased's death in 2011, with the Plaintiff challenging the 1st Defendant's claim to the estate, supported by documentary evidence indicating the 1st Defendant's biological father as Charles Yeboah. The 1st Defendant and her witnesses testified to her biological relationship with the deceased, including public acknowledgment and family acceptance.
read moreJUDGMENT [1] Introduction The issues raised by this case is centered on issues relating to the matters unfolding after the death of a patriarch the late Frank Atakorah in the year 2011. This brings to mind the words of Thomas Paine, when he stated as follows in 1796: “Nothing they say, is more certain than death, nothing more uncertain than the dying1.” WCE Daniels in his seminal book the Law of Family relations in Ghana at page 209 stated: “Parentage is an important institution in any modern society. Lack of knowledge of the membership of one’s parent will therefore constitute a severe drawback to the accurate placing of such individual in his family.” The Plaintiff the surviving spouse of the late Frank Atakorah has instituted this action to seek a declaration that the 1st Defendant is not the biological child of the late Frank Atakorah and therefore not a beneficiary of his estate. The Plaintiff’s position is sharply contended by the 1st Defendant that she is ...