A Kumasi High Court has dismissed an injunction application by Akosua Serwaa to halt the funeral rites of highlife legend Daddy Lumba.
The court affirmed that the authority over his mortal remains rests with his extended family, not his first wife, Akosua Serwaa per the Asante tradition.
The legal tussle, which has captivated the nation, reached a critical juncture as the court refused to grant an injunction that would have prevented the legendary musician’s extended family from taking his body from the morgue and proceeding with final funeral rites.
The ruling was on cultural principle. The court, presided over by Justice Dorinda Smith-Arthur emphasized that according to Ashanti custom, upon a person’s death, the body reverts to its matrilineal roots.
This means the responsibility for the funeral does not lie solely with the immediate family or the spouse, but with the broader clan, locally referred to as “abusua.”
“The wider family cannot be barred”, the judge stated, clarifying that the authority to remove the body from the morgue is not the exclusive right of the immediate family.
The case was brought before the court by Akosua Serwaa, who has been at the center of a public dispute over her legal status as Daddy Lumba’s wife.
By moving to injunct the removal of the body and restrain the family from holding the funeral, she sought to assert her authority as the immediate spouse.
However, the court ruled that restraining the extended family would not be in the interest of any party involved, or the general public.
Basing her decision on established Supreme Court rules, the judge concluded that it would be neither just nor convenient to grant the application, and it was therefore refused.
With the injunction dismissed, the legal focus now shifts to the core of the dispute, which is declaring who the main surviving spouse is.
The court has ordered all parties to file all necessary legal processes by Friday, October 31, for a Case Management Conference scheduled for November 14.
This will set the stage for the main hearing, which is slated to begin on November 17.
The court expects the hearing to be completed by November 21, with a final judgment on the broader case expected on November 25.
For now, the ruling allows Daddy Lumba’s extended family to proceed with their plans to lay their celebrated kinsman to rest, in accordance with the customs and traditions he famously celebrated in his music.
