The Accra Circuit Court has ordered a businessman in his 60s to pay GHC200,000 in compensation to his former lover after finding him guilty of breaching a promise to marry.
The dispute, which spanned an 11-year relationship between 2013 and 2024, began as a suit by the businessman seeking to eject the woman from a two-bedroom unit in his six-unit East Legon property. The court, presided over by Justice Sedinam Kwadam, found that the woman had been promised marriage and had contributed to supervising construction of the property while the plaintiff funded it.
Justice Kwadam ruled that the ring given to the woman, her active role in construction, and the businessman’s public association with her family constituted clear evidence of intent to marry. As a result, the court dismissed the ejectment suit, granting her a beneficial interest in the apartment under a constructive trust, allowing her to continue living there.
For the breach of promise to marry, the court awarded GHC50,000 in general damages and GHC150,000 in compensation, totaling GHC200,000, and ruled that the defendant retains use of a Toyota RAV4 linked to the dispute. Costs of GHC20,000 were also awarded in her favour.
The full judgment is expected to be released on February 24.