DIANA YAWA DJIRACKOR vs. SETH MENSAH KOJO DUMOGA [2016]DLHC11572

Date	2016-06-10
Suit No.	SUIT NO. BDMC/109/2015
Citation No.	[2016]DLHC11572

HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE AKUA SARPOMAA AMOAH (MRS.)

CYNTHIA OHENE HOLDING BRIEF FOR G. K. NTONY FOR PETITIONER PRESENT

NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR RESPONDENT

[2016]DLHC11572
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >DIANA YAWA DJIRACKOR<o:p></o:p>(PETITIONER)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>SETH MENSAH KOJO DUMOGA<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
justify;tab-stops:208.2pt;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">CYNTHIA OHENE HOLDING BRIEF
FOR G. K. NTONY FOR PETITIONER PRESENT NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <o:p></o:p>HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE AKUA SARPOMAA AMOAH
(MRS.)<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;tab-stops:170.6pt;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;On
the 16th of December, 2014, the Petitioner instituted the present divorce
proceedings against the Respondent seeking the following reliefs:<o:p></o:p>a)
The dissolution of the marriage<o:p></o:p>b)
An order for the Respondent to pay a lump sum financial compensation of GH¢
20,000.00 to the Petitioner<o:p></o:p>c)
The Respondent pays the cost of the proceeding.<o:p></o:p>The
main allegation upon which Petitioner grounds the instant Petition is that the
marriage between the parties has broken down beyond reconciliation on account
of the Respondent’s unreasonable behaviour. <o:p></o:p>The
Respondent in his “RESPONSE TO PETITION”
filed on the 13th day of February, 2015 admitted that the marriage had broken
down but prayed in his Cross Petition&nbsp;&nbsp;
that the Court refers the Parties to a Court appointed Counselor for a
final attempt at reconciliation. <o:p></o:p>The
Parties, both Ghanaians were married under the Ordinance on the 9th day of
March, 1996, having been married customarily some 7 years prior to the said
date. After, the marriage they cohabited at the Ministry of Finance flats,
Dansoman, Accra between the years of 1990 and 1998 and then moved into their
own house at Dome in September, 1998. There are two adult children of the
marriage namely Kekeli Dumoga aged 25 years and Delali Dumoga aged 22 years.<o:p></o:p>At
the close of pleadings, the suit was fixed for hearing on the 28th day of May
2015 but suffered three subsequent adjournments because the Respondent, who
entered appearance to the Petition by himself, was absent on each occasion.
Upon being satisfied that Respondent had spurned every opportunity afforded him
to be present at the trial, this Court proceeded to hear the evidence of
Petitioner on the 2nd day of July, 2015 in Respondent’s absence. <o:p></o:p>The
testimony of the Petitioner is that the marriage between the parties has broken
down beyond reconciliation because of the unreasonable behavior or conduct of
the Respondent. The Petitioner cited a number of incidents to substantiate her
allegation that Respondent had behaved unreasonably during the subsistence of
the marriage. According to the Petitioner, the parties have been living apart
since the year 2007, two years prior to the said separation the Respondent who
had moved out of the matrimonial bedroom into the guest room, took to
threatening and abusive behavior by constantly terrorizing Petitioner that he
will kill her and kill himself, if she did not leave the matrimonial home. What
the Petitioner termed the “exchange of assaults and accusations” had become the
order of the day in the matrimonial home whilst the children (who were rather
young then) looked on helplessly. On the 17th of April, 2007 matters came to a
head when the Respondent in the morning of that day, followed the Petitioner
from church as she drove to Lapaz, a suburb of Accra&nbsp; to visit a friend. Upon realizing that she
was being trailed by the Respondent, Petitioner parked midway to find out from
him if there was any special reason why he was following her.&nbsp; According to Petitioner, the Respondent right
there in the street and in the full glare of the general public, hurled insults
at her, calling her a prostitute and demanded that she leave his house.
Obviously embarrassed by the scene that was being created, Petitioner rushed
back into her car and sped off but the Respondent, undaunted, followed her to
her friend’s house where he continued with his threats and insults. It only
took the intervention of the said friend, for Respondent to end his verbal
tirade and to finally agree to leave but this he did, only after he had driven
into Petitioner’s car on purpose, damaging its side mirror in the process.&nbsp; As if this was not enough, Petitioner
returned home later that day to find that her belongings had been thrown out of
the matrimonial home by the Respondent who in addition subjected her to severe
beatings for her refusal to pay heed to his orders that she leave the
matrimonial home.&nbsp; All attempts by the
Petitioner to return her things to the matrimonial home were stoutly resisted
by Respondent thus leaving her with no other option than to report the matter
to the Domestic Violence and Victim Unit (DOVVSU)
of the Ghana Police Service. Upon the intervention of personnel at DOVVSU, Respondent was very categorical
that he no longer wanted the Petitioner back in the matrimonial home. Having
been left stranded at the police station, Petitioner was advised by DOVVSU, to find temporary accommodation
and to pursue the matter in Court since the police&nbsp;&nbsp; “could not handle divorce issues”. <o:p></o:p>There
was yet another charge of adultery leveled against the Respondent by the
Petitioner, which according to her, resulted in him fathering a child out of
wedlock. According to Petitioner, Respondent had persisted in his philandering
during the entire period that the parties lived together under the same roof
and also for the period that they have been separated.&nbsp; In response to Respondent’s invitation to the
Court that the matter b</main>