An Accra Circuit Court has ordered a businessman in his 60s to pay GH₵200,000 to his former lover after finding him liable for breach of promise to marry.
The case, presided over by Justice Sedinam Kwadam, began as an attempt by the man to eject the woman from a two-bedroom apartment in his East Legon property, but ended with the court dismissing the ejectment claim and recognising the woman’s beneficial interest in the apartment under a constructive trust.
Evidence before the court showed the pair were in an 11-year relationship between 2013 and 2024. During that period, the woman supervised the construction of a six-unit property in East Legon for about four years while the man, who was not living in Ghana at the time, remitted funds for the project.
After the building was completed, the businessman asked the woman to move into one of the two-bedroom units in 2017. He later joined her upon returning to Ghana.
In response to the ejectment suit, the woman filed a countersuit, arguing that the man had promised to marry her and that she relied on that promise to leave her Dansoman residence and fully commit to the relationship.
She also told the court the businessman publicly identified as an in-law during her father’s funeral, contributed financially, wrote a tribute, and gave her a ring — which the judge held was not a casual gift but a sign of clear intent.
The court concluded there was “overwhelming evidence” of a promise to marry, and that the businessman’s conduct in 2024, which ended the relationship, amounted to a breach.
Justice Kwadam noted that because both parties are above 60, the woman’s prospects of finding another suitor had reduced after spending nine years living with him.
The court awarded GH₵50,000 in general damages and GH₵150,000 in compensation, bringing the total to GH₵200,000, with an additional GH₵20,000 as costs.
It also ruled that the woman could continue using a Toyota RAV4 since the businessman did not specifically request its return.
The full reasoning behind the judgement is expected to be available on February 24.
