Marriage in Ghana is often more than a commitment between two people. It brings families together, creates new relationships, and establishes obligations that may continue long after the wedding ceremony. The families may participate in the marriage rites, welcome a new son or daughter-in-law, and offer support when difficulties arise between the couple. In some instances, they become the very people the couple turn to when disagreements threaten the stability of their union.
While the conduct of the spouses remains central to the relationship, the attitude of their respective families may also reveal something about the state of the marriage. When families that once welcomed one another begin to withdraw their support or treat the relationship differently, the change may reflect deeper problems within the marriage.
This social reality came into focus in a recent decision of the High Court, Family Court 4, Accra, in Kwasi Owusu v Monica Owusu, delivered on 8 June 2026.
Facts of the Case
The parties married under the ordinance on 23 July 2005 and had one child together. Nearly two decades later, the petitioner sought a divorce, arguing that the marriage had broken down beyond reconciliation because of the respondent’s unreasonable and cruel behaviour.
Among his complaints were that the respondent had refused to work for several years after their marriage, leaving him to shoulder the financial burden of the household; had shown him disrespect, including in the presence of their child; and had spread rumours that affected his reputation among members of his church. He also complained that, despite building a five-bedroom house for the respondent and her mother in Kpando, the respondent had failed to appreciate the gesture and had disparaged the property.
Of particular relevance to the court’s consideration of the marriage was the petitioner’s account of the relationship between their respective families. He testified that when his family attended the funeral of the respondent’s mother in 2023, they were not accorded the customary show of thanks and gratitude that he believed was due to them. He further alleged that the respondent had driven a wedge between her family and him.
Decision of the Court
Agreeing with the Petitioner, the Court held that marriage in Ghana is understood as a union involving not only the spouses but also their respective families. Under customary practice, a son-in-law or daughter-in-law may have obligations towards the family of the spouse, particularly the spouse’s parents. These obligations may extend to the performance of customary rites and the observance of courtesies following a death.
The court reasoned that the failure of the respondent’s family to accord the petitioner’s family the customary courtesies in question could indicate that all was not well with the marriage. At its most serious, the court observed, such conduct could suggest that the respondent’s family no longer regarded the petitioner as the lawful husband of their daughter and, by extension, their son-in-law. Either way, the incident was a grave indication of the difficulties confronting the continued sustenance of the marriage.
Consequently, the Court ruled that the marriage between the parties had broken down beyond reconciliation due to their inability to reconcile their differences after diligent effort. It therefore decreed the dissolution of the parties’ marriage and ordered a cancellation of their marriage certificate.
The Legal Test for Divorce
The legal framework governing divorce in Ghana is regulated by the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367). Under section 1(2) of the Act, the sole ground for granting a petition for divorce is that the marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation. A petitioner must establish one or more of the circumstances recognised by the Act to demonstrate that breakdown. These include adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion for the prescribed period, separation in the circumstances specified by the Act, and an inability to reconcile differences after diligent effort.
In the case, the court ultimately found that the parties had been unable to reconcile their differences despite diligent effort. It noted that the problems between them had persisted since 2022 and that the evidence did not suggest that they could return to a state of harmony in their marital relationship.
Conclusion
The Court’s decision offers a useful reminder that marriage in Ghana operates within a social environment in which family relationships can carry considerable significance. The families of spouses may provide support, mediate disputes and help the couple navigate difficult periods. Their conduct may therefore offer relevant insight into the circumstances surrounding a troubled marriage.
But the lesson is not that family disapproval or a failure to observe a customary courtesy automatically signals the end of a marriage. Nor does the decision make family approval a legal condition for the continuation of an ordinance marriage. Rather, the court’s reasoning shows that, in an appropriate case, the state of relations between the respective families may form part of the evidence from which the condition of a marriage is assessed.
The legal question, ultimately, is whether the marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation. Family relations may help illuminate that question, but they do not replace the statutory test.
The decision thus brings into focus the relationship between marriage as a legal institution and marriage as a lived social experience. A marriage certificate establishes a formal union, but the continued existence of that union in law does not necessarily mean that the relationship retains its substance in everyday life. Where the evidence shows that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, the law provides a means of bringing the formal relationship to an end.
