Widow files writ to access matrimonial home following husband's death

A widow is asking the Accra High Court to stop a family head from denying her access to her late husband’s home following his death.

In a writ filed by Dianah Asafu Adjei, the widow and plaintiff, against Abusuapayin Osei Tutu of Daaban, Kumasi, she is requesting the court’s assistance to allow her to participate in the funeral rites of her late husband, Engineer Elvis Asafu Adjei Boamah, also known as Osei Kwame Asaf.

The widow is also requesting the court to order Abusuapayin Osei Tutu, the defendant, to leave her matrimonial home and grant her uninterrupted access, as a surviving spouse married to the deceased for over 50 years.

Madam Adjei is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the defendant from interfering with her occupation of the home, performing her widow rites, and treating her in a way that may undermine her interests as the deceased’s widow.

She is additionally requesting the court to award damages for trespass and wrongful conduct, as well as costs, including legal fees.

The widow expressed concern that the defendant may go ahead with organising the final funeral rites for her late husband on or around September 29, 2024.

Madam Adjei contended that the defendant could also obstruct her from performing the widowhood rites for her late husband and deny her the “right to a share in the estate of the deceased,” which is the basis for her application.

In her statement of case and supporting affidavit, she stated that the defendant “has thrown her out” of her matrimonial home in Adjiriganor, East Legon.

Additionally, Madam Adjei said that the defendant had informed her that “he does not need her at the funeral rites of the deceased.”

Madam Adjei asserted that the defendant was preventing her from performing widowhood rites because “she was not married to the deceased at the time of his death.”

She argued that not being allowed to carry out these rites would cause her irreparable harm, as it would prevent her from accessing the estate of the deceased, a portion of which she believes is her right under the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

Madam Adjei stated that she would provide the court with relevant evidence to show that at the time of her husband’s death, “we had been married for over 50 years without any interruption,” and that the defendant/respondent is merely an intruder who must be legally restrained.