Court proceedings in the case seeking to establish the rightful widow of the late highlife icon, Charles Kwadwo Fosuh (Daddy Lumba), came to a sudden halt on Wednesday after his elder sister broke down in tears during intense cross-examination at the Kumasi High Court.

Presiding Judge, Justice Dorinda Smith-Arthur, was compelled to briefly suspend the hearing and advised the witness — Ernestina Fosuh, also known as Akosua Brempomaah — to take some water and steady herself.

The emotional moment was triggered by a question from counsel for the second defendant, Priscilla Ofori, popularly called Odo Broni.

The lawyer queried Madam Brempomaah about why Daddy Lumba named his first child with Akosua Serwaa Fosuh “Calvyn Schindler” instead of choosing a family-related name, despite the sister’s earlier statement that the musician confided almost everything in her.

When the hearing resumed, Madam Brempomaah testified that her brother frequently returned to Ghana from Germany from 2013 onwards, and she typically stayed with him at his Tantra Hills home during her six-month visits.

She narrated that she first met Odo Broni after she delivered her son, Junior, and later learned that the woman had welcomed a second child with the musician — a baby named after their late mother, Amma Saah.

When asked whether their mother saw the child named in her honour, she said no, noting that this December marks 24 years since their mother’s passing.

As the eldest surviving sibling, she said she naturally assumed a motherly role in Lumba’s life.

The witness also confirmed that Daddy Lumba and Odo Broni lost one of their children, and further disclosed that three of the musician’s children were living at his brother’s house at Tantra Hills, with three others fully registered at his East Legon residence.

Two major issues remain at the heart of the legal dispute:

1.      Whether Daddy Lumba performed the necessary “Nseyie” in-law funeral rites at the funeral of Akosua Serwaa’s mother.

2.      Whether he remained legally married to Akosua Serwaa at the time of his death.

Madam Brempomaah maintained that the funeral rites were indeed performed and insisted she had video evidence to support her claim.

She dismissed suggestions from defence counsel that the marriage had collapsed or that Akosua Serwaa had returned the “Ti Nsa,” which would signify a dissolved customary union.

She argued she would have been informed if the marriage had ended, stressing that it remained intact — referencing Akosua Serwaa’s continued access to her German health insurance (Krankenversicherung) and labour documents reserved strictly for legal spouses.

The court also heard from a subpoenaed witness, Osei Bonsu Kantanka from the Manhyia Palace, who is expected to provide expert clarification on Asante customary traditions governing marriage, divorce, and funeral rites.

His testimony is considered pivotal in determining the identity of Daddy Lumba’s legitimate widow.