Counselor and Lawyer, Kweku Yamoah Paintsil, has shed some light on the legal implications of ordinance marriage with regards to divorce.

Mr Paintsil spoke at the just-ended Joy FM’s Family Forum dubbed ‘Becoming Mr. & Mrs.’ held at the Best Western Plus Hotel on Saturday, August 12, 2023.

According to him, contrary to some popular beliefs, ordinance marriage cannot be dissolved by family members. It can only be dissolved by by a court of law.

While stating the distinction between the two popular types of marriage in Ghana, the lawyer revealed that a traditional marriage can be upgraded to an ordinance marriage, however the process cannot be reversed.

“Once you conduct the ordinance marriage, you cannot come back to traditional marriage. People have ordinance marriage [and later say] we have returned the drink. You cannot return any drink to anybody, once you have conducted an ordinance marriage”, Mr Paintsil disclosed.

The experienced counselor further elaborated, “it’s the incidence of the ordinance marriage that governs the marriage from the date of contracting the ordinance marriage, and it is only a court of law that can dissolve an ordinance marriage. You cannot purport to dissolve an ordinance marriage by returning to your elders”.

Mr Paintsil, during his submission at the ‘Becoming Mr. & Mrs.’, also cautioned attendees to stay abreast of all other legal implications of the ordinance marriage, because flouting its rules could land one into jail. He explained that as opposed to traditional marriages, a man cannot have more than a wife in an ordinance marriage due its monogamous nature.

“You cannot marry more than one woman under the ordinance marriage. If you do so, you can be tried for the offense of bigamy and you’ll go to prison”, he intimated during the family forum last Saturday.

‘Becoming Mr. & Mrs.’ forum was organized and hosted by Edem Knight-Tay, Programmes Manager of Joy FM. The breakfast meeting was attended by over a hundred single people who are planning to make a life-long commitment - marriage. Topics discussed included health and well-being, finance, communication, sex and intimacy, abuse, unrealistic expectations, faith and religion, technology, among others.

The various topics were covered by several other speakers including Mrs. Theresa Wiafe-Asante (Mama T), Ariel ‘The Wellness Coach’, Kobina Atta-Bedu, PG Sebastain and Dr. Promise Sefogah.

‘Ghana’s favourite Uncle, James Ebo Whyte, and First Lady of Royal House Chapel, Rev. Mrs. Rita Korankye-Ankrah took turns in discussing ‘the importance of sex in marriages’, and ‘headship, submission & mutual respect in marriages’, respectively.

Joy FM’s family forum, ‘Becoming Mr. & Mrs.’, was sponsored by Best Western Plus Hotel, Marie Noelle’s Spa and Salon, Shape Healthcare Specialist Medical Centre, Niche Expressions, and GOBA Kente.