During the November 21, 2025 hearing at the Kumasi High Court, proceedings in the case determining the lawful surviving spouse of the late Highlife musician Daddy Lumba were disrupted by intermittent power outages.
The case involves Akosua Serwaa, who is seeking recognition as the late musician’s legal wife.
According to JoyNews, the hearing was interrupted twice while counsel for Akosua Serwaa, William Kusi, cross-examined Abusuapanin Kofi Owusu, the head of the Ekuona family at Parkoso and the first defendant in the matter.
Akosua Serwaa is asking the court to declare her the only surviving legal wife of the late musician and therefore entitled to perform his widowhood rites.
She is also seeking an order restraining Priscila Ofori, also known as Odo Broni, who has six children with Daddy Lumba, from presenting herself as the late musician’s wife.
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The first power outage occurred at 2:49 p.m., just as William Kusi was questioning Abusuapanin Owusu.
The trial judge, Justice Dorinda Smith-Arthur, exclaimed, “My goodness! Did you save it?” expressing concern over court records, as computers used by court recorders had shut down mid-typing.
With no immediate restoration of power after more than 15 minutes, the judge adjourned the hearing, suspending Abusuapanin Owusu’s testimony. The case was rescheduled for Monday, November 24, 2025.
Power was restored at 3:08 p.m., just three minutes after proceedings had ended and the judge had retired to her chambers. However, as Justice Smith-Arthur returned to resume the session, the lights went out again at 3:10 p.m., causing frustration among judicial staff, lawyers, journalists, the plaintiff, and relatives of the late musician. Power returned at 3:12 p.m., allowing the hearing to continue.
When proceedings resumed, Abusuapanin Owusu testified under oath that he had helped organise the funeral of Amma Saah, Daddy Lumba’s mother, and had seen the musician at the event.
During cross-examination, he said he could not recall the year Amma Saah died. When counsel suggested 2011, he maintained that he did not remember.
He also testified that he had seen Akosua Serwaa at her mother-in-law’s funeral and that it was the last time he saw her until the musician’s death.
When asked whether the late musician owned property in Germany, he said he had never been to the country but believed so because of a document—a letter allegedly written by Akosua Serwaa’s lawyers to the musician while he was alive.
The document, tendered as Exhibit DL1, was read in English and later translated into Twi for the witness, who chose to testify in Twi.
The authenticity of the letter is being contested by Akosua Serwaa, who insists she never authorised it. The letter allegedly informed Daddy Lumba of her intention to divorce him and gave him a 10-day ultimatum to respond to her demand for a share of properties she claimed they jointly acquired in Germany and Ghana.
These properties reportedly included estates at Tantra Hills, Dome, and East Legon, as well as plots at Adoato in Kumasi, accumulated during their 34-year marriage.
The letter also alleged that Daddy Lumba fathered 17 children out of wedlock and accused him of domestic abuse that allegedly left Akosua Serwaa with an almost deformed lip.
When asked how he obtained the letter, Abusuapanin Owusu said some members of his family provided it to him, despite it being addressed only to Daddy Lumba and Akosua Serwaa.
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