No Muslim in Ghana has a valid marriage certificate issued by the state – Lawyer

Private legal practitioner Dennis Adjei Dwomoh has asserted that no Muslim in Ghana currently holds a valid marriage certificate issued by the state.

According to him the blame should be placed on what he described as years of neglect and institutional failure by the government.

Speaking in an interview on GHOne TV, excerpts of which have circulated widely on social media, Dwomoh said research conducted by his team in 2022 revealed a troubling legal gap affecting Islamic marriages across the country.

“In 2022, our team did research on it and we came to a conclusion that sadly, no Muslim in Ghana has a valid certificate issued by the state…because the state, as again, has abandoned it.

“The state does not care about how, in terms of the legal compliance of Islamic marriage in Ghana and the requirement of the law is that if you do not register your marriage as an Islamic person when you married under Islam the marriage is null and void,” he said.

He argued that while the law places this obligation on Muslim couples and Islamic clerics, the state has failed to provide the necessary structures to make registration possible.

Dwomoh noted that many Muslims especially those traveling abroad or dealing with official documentation are often compelled to obtain customary marriage certificates instead, as those are the only ones readily available through state institutions.

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“None of the district assemblies in Ghana, none of them and I repeat, none of them, have a certificate issued by the state for Islamic marriages, none of them.”

Dwomoh warned that the lack of registration has serious legal consequences.

According to him, in disputes brought before the courts particularly those involving inheritance, divorce or spousal rights Islamic marriages are often not upheld due to the absence of state registration.

He explained that courts may only recognize a marriage if it can be presumed under customary law and only where such rites were also performed.

No Muslim in Ghana has a valid marriage certificate issued by the state... - Dennis Adjei Dwomoh Esq. (Legal Practitioner)#GHOneNews #EIBNetwork#GHOneTV #NewsAlert#StarrFM pic.twitter.com/CZV8ajo8tJ

— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) January 21, 2026

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