Mary Pearl Grant Vrs William Afedze Dsane [2022] GHADC 44 (11 November 2022)

IN THE FAMILY AND JUVENILE COURT ‘C’ AT THE FORMER COMMERCIAL COURT BUILDING, ACCRA, HELD ON FRIDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2022 BEFORE HER HONOUR HALIMAH EL-ALAWA ABDUL-BAASIT SITTING AS AN ADDITIONAL MAGISTRATE WITH MADAM LOVEGRACE AHALIJAH AND MADAM REGINA TAGOE AS PANEL MEMBERS SUIT NO. A6/306 /22 APPLICANT MARY PEARL GRANT ASHONGMAN, ACCRA VS. WILLIAM AFEDZE DSANE OSU, ACCRA RESPONDENT Parties Present No Legal Representations for Parties. CONSENT JUDGMENT The Applicant on the 4th of March 2022 filed an Application praying for the following reliefs; 1. An Order by the Honourable Court for the Respondent to pay the child’s school fees. 2. An Order for the Respondent to maintain the child with an amount of Ghc500.00 monthly and pay for the healthcare needs of the child. 3. Any other Order(s) as the Honorable Court may deem fit. Mary Pearl Grant vs William Afedze Dzane The basis of this Application as deposed by the Applicant in his Affidavit in Support is that the parties had a relationship that resulted in pregnancy but the Respondent denied being responsible for the pregnancy and subsequently cut off all means of communication with her. She deposed further that upon delivery, the Respondent failed to perform the naming ceremony of the child but his mother, after paying her a visit, started maintaining her with an amount of Ghc300.00 monthly although same was not consistent. She stated further that the child is about Three (3) years old now and the Respondent has never set his eyes on the child claiming that he is not responsible for the pregnancy. The Respondent’s Case The Respondent filed an Affidavit in Opposition on the 31st of March 2022 and admitted to having a relationship with the Applicant which lasted for just about a month and as such had no knowledge of the Applicants pregnancy although he later got wind of her giving birth of a child. He stated that neither the Applicant nor any member of her family informed him of the pregnancy and child birth. He deposed further that most of the event circulating the pregnancy and child birth were unknown to him because he was hospitalized for diabetic coma which resulted in a mild stroke with clotted blood in his head thereby deteriorating his health and eventually his mental capacity. He therefore prayed the Honorable Court to compel the Applicant to produce the child to the Court for a DNA test to ascertain the paternity of the child in issue. DETERMINATION: The court granted the Respondent’s prayer for a DNA Test to be conducted to ascertain the true paternity of the child and same of done. On the 7th of October Mary Pearl Grant vs William Afedze Dzane 2022, the DNA result as prepared by Dr. Leonard Kakuunaa of the Doctor’s Clinic, confirmed with reasonable certainty that the Respondent herein is the biological father of the child in issue as the percentage of paternity was 99.99%. Having ascertained paternity, the matter came up for hearing and there was the need to address the reliefs of the Applicant before the court. The court observed that the parties were amenable to settlement and therefore referred them to the court connected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre to attempt an amicable resolution of their dispute and same was successful as evidenced by the Terms of Agreement placed on the docket. Terms of Settlement Before the court is an ADR Terms of Agreement dated 6th October 2022, where the parties agreed on the following: 1. Custody: That the Applicant shall have custody of the children. 2. Access: That the Respondent shall have access to the child twice a month on weekends. 3. Maintenance: That the Respondent shall pay monthly maintenance of Four Hundred Ghana Cedis (Ghc400.00) for the child via Mobile Money Account with phone numbers 0244658973 or 0276335588 with the name Georgina Dadzie to the Applicant’s Mobile Money Account with effect from November, 2022. Mary Pearl Grant vs William Afedze Dzane 4. Education: That the Respondent shall pay the child’s school fees and anything that concerns his education. 5. Health: That the Applicant shall renew the child’s health insurance under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Respondent shall pay medical bills not covered by Health Insurance. 6. Compensation: That the Respondent shall pay an amount of Two Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc2, 000.00) as compensation to the Applicant and same shall be paid in Two (2) installments, that is, in November and December, 2022. BY COURT: The terms of Agreement dated 6th October 2022 signed by both parties before the Mediator; DORIS KOTEY and confirmed by the Applicant herein is hereby adopted and entered as Consent Judgment. The parties shall do well to abide by the Terms so agreed in the best interest of the children. ………………………………… H/H HALIMAH EL-ALAWA ABDUL-BAASIT. PRESIDING JUDGE I AGREE I AGREE ………………………………… ……………………….. MADAM LOVEGRACE AHLIJAH PANEL MEMBER MADAM REGINA TAGOE PANEL MEMBER Mary Pearl Grant vs William Afedze Dzane Mary Pearl Grant vs William Afedze Dzane 5