Karen Baaba Sam, a thirty-year-old Ghanaian single mother, has filed a contempt application against the father of her daughter, Nana Kwadwo Adjei, for forcefully obtaining the passport of their six-year-old daughter from the High Court registry in breach of an existing court order that requires the passport to be deposited at the court and only to be obtained by either party on notice to each other.
The motion for an order to commit Nana Kwadwo Adjei for contempt was filed by lawyers of Ms Karen Baaba Sam on Wednesday, 2 July 2025, at the General Jurisdiction High Court.
Baaba Sam’s contention
In her affidavit in support of her motion, Ms. Baaba Sam pointed out that on June 13, 2025, she applied to the Family Tribunal seeking an order to release her daughter’s passport to her and to provide further directions on the trial. The motion was scheduled to be moved on 3 July 2025.
“However, my lawyers were informed by the registrar that on 12 June 2025, the Respondent (Nana Kwadwo Adjei) went to the registry and forcefully demanded and took away my daughter’s passport that had been deposited at the registry under the 24 March 2025 order.
“That earlier on 11 June 2025, the Respondent rushed to my daughter’s school to attempt to pick up my daughter, even though he had no right to do so under the existing court orders. The Respondent could not gain access to my daughter, only because I had earlier submitted a letter to the school and picked up my daughter,” Karen Baaba Sam deposed in her affidavit.
“To cover his own earlier violations, the Respondent then instituted contempt proceedings against me on 23 June 2025, and contended therein that the 24 March 2025 order is still in force and that I should be punished for picking up my daughter from the school even though the Family Tribunal had confirmed my statutory right of having the primary care of my daughter.
“To mislead the Court in his contempt suit, the Respondent suppressed and concealed his own illegal and unlawful violations of forcefully demanding and removing my daughter’s passport from the Court’s custody.
“As the Respondent himself argues, his conduct in removing the passport from the custody of the Court’s registry is contemptuous and a direct affront to the authority of the Court,” Karen Baaba Sam further deposed to in her affidavit.
Gross disregard
Ms Baaba Sam pointed out that Nana Adjei has demonstrated a gross disregard for the orders and processes of the Family Tribunal, and he is determined to continue his flagrant disobedience unless he is committed to prison.
She argued further that the only sanction that would effectively address Nana Adjei’s open disrespect for the court is for him to be severely punished and ordered to purge himself by returning the passport to the court’s custody.
Background
Karen Baaba Sam broke her silence on the years of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse she endured at the hands of her ex-partner, Nana Adjei, on 20 January 2025.
In a chilling account, Karen details the harrowing experiences that began in 2016 and culminated in a bitter custody battle over their daughter, Ohemaa. Karen met Nana Adjei in 2016. What initially seemed like a loving and protective relationship soon took a dark turn.
By 2018, when she became pregnant with their daughter, Nana Adjei appeared excited, mainly since most of his children from previous relationships lived abroad with their mothers. However, cracks began to show when his second son, who had moved in with them, left after suffering physical abuse from his father.
Karen recalls the first incident of domestic violence occurring in December 2018, when Nana Adjei returned home drunk after a night out. When she asked him about where he had been, the responses she received were slaps and kicks to her body, including her pregnant belly.
“I was more scared for my unborn child than for myself,” she recounted. She managed to call a friend, Leeroy, who intervened. Nana Adjei later apologized, blaming his actions on the alcohol he had consumed.
Over the years, Karen says she suffered repeated physical assaults, often resulting in black eyes and a swollen face. Despite her brother filing a report at the East Legon Police Station, no action was taken.
According to Karen, Nana Adjei boasted about his influence in the police, making it impossible for her to seek justice. Karen’s breaking point came in April 2023, when she encountered Nana Adjei at a restaurant with another woman, whom she later discovered was his new girlfriend.
When she attempted to leave with him in his (Nana Adjei’s) car, the woman humiliated her in public, while Nana Adjei did nothing to stop it. Karen chose to walk away. However, when she got home, Nana Adjei attacked her again, beating her in the presence of their daughter.
Nana Adjei also allegedly assaulted two family friends visiting from Germany who tried to intervene. During the chaos, Nana Adjei even kicked their daughter, causing her to fall and cry. Determined to escape the abuse, Karen ended the relationship in December 2023.
Nana Adjei allegedly reacted with threats and demanded the return of all gifts he had given her, including their daughter’s school car. Fearing further abuse, Karen moved out in February 2024.
“On her very first night in her new home, Karen was robbed at gunpoint, with all her valuables stolen. She found the timing suspicious, especially when Nana Adjei demanded the return of a specific necklace—the only valuable item the robbers did not take. The authorities believed the attack was carried out by someone close to her, prompting them to assign her police protection.
