In a dramatic turn during the widowhood dispute involving the late highlife musician Charles Kwadwo Fosu, known publicly as Daddy Lumba, the plaintiff Akosua Serwaa Fosu presented photographs she describes as evidence of a 2004 civil marriage ceremony in Bornheim, Germany. This caught the defence off guard during Monday’s hearing.
The introduction of the images immediately triggered resistance. Defence lawyers dismissed the photographs as unexpected “surprises” and challenged both their legitimacy and the timing of their submission.
Plaintiff counsel William Kusi produced the photos while cross-examining the first defendant, Abusuapanin Kofi Owusu, who heads the Ekuona family in Parkoso. He asked the witness to identify the man pictured. After a close look, Abusuapanin Owusu confirmed that the images showed his nephew, the late Daddy Lumba.
That confirmation prompted defence counsel Dominic Kwadwo Osei and Kwadwo Owusu to register formal objections. They argued that the defence had not been given the opportunity to question the appropriate witnesses about the pictures and therefore could not authenticate the event or the date captured. They maintained that the plaintiff had introduced new material too late in the trial.
When the presiding judge, Her Ladyship Dorinda Smith Arthur, sought clarification on the source of the photos, plaintiff counsel explained that the documents had just arrived from Germany as part of a package related to the alleged marriage. He added that the late arrival prevented earlier filing. Despite the objections, the court accepted the photographs into evidence.
Attention then shifted to the defence’s own photographic submissions. During further questioning, plaintiff counsel asked Abusuapanin Owusu how he obtained the pictures he had previously offered to the court. The witness explained that the images came from Priscilla Ofori, also known as Odo Broni, the second defendant, who gave them to him at the residence of the late musician.
When asked why Odo Broni appeared to be wearing a wedding ring on her left hand in those photos, Abusuapanin Owusu reportedly stated, “Marriage rings are normally worn on the 4th finger on the left hand.”
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An inquiry about one specific image of Lumba and Priscilla led to another objection from the defence, but the judge allowed the question. The witness ultimately clarified that the photograph did not depict a wedding event but showed “a couple dressed and ready to go out.”
The tension in the courtroom heightened when counsel for the plaintiff suggested that one of the defence’s images might have been altered. He questioned mismatched proportions and similarities with other documents, asserting that the picture “cannot be a photograph of Daddy Lumba and Odo Broni.”
Abusuapanin Owusu responded, “I was not there when the photograph was taken.” When counsel referred to earlier testimony from a defence witness who claimed no photos were taken at the supposed marriage ceremony at the musician’s home, the witness acknowledged the point.
As public interest intensifies, the Kumasi High Court is expected to determine the rightful spouse of the late music legend when it delivers its ruling on Friday, November 28. The decision will also influence who may legitimately lay claim to his estate.
