Following the viral news that Nungua Gborbu Wulomo married a 12-year-old girl, the GaDangme Council decided to intervene with a clarification after undertaking “more research and consultations on the matter.” The Council said the Gborbu Wulomo’s “actions have reflected poorly on the Nungua traditional area as well as the GaDangme Community in general, giving detractors the opportunity to denigrate and make us objects of derision.”
A statement issued on Monday, April 1, 2024, said the Council, “like all other well-meaning Ghanaians and social commentators, deprecated and denounced the ceremony christened a Ga Customary Wedding Boi Ekpaa Yoo.” It said, the Council was induced to do so because “it is not difficult to infer that the significant age difference between the two parties may create an imbalance of power, leading to potential abuse and exploitation.”
However, following its consultation with the Gborbu Wulomo, Nuumo Borketey Laweh XXXIII, and elders of the Nungua Traditional Area, the GaDangme Council established that “the relationship with the underage girl is a betrothal and not a marriage.” The statement signed by the President of the GaDangme Council, Nii Ayikoi Otoo said the clarification “has altered the legal implications.”
According to the Council, the MC at the ceremony “misled everybody present as well as the entire community to believe that what was happening was a traditional wedding.”
The Council said, it has urged the “Gborbu Wulomɔ to address the issue and mitigate the concerns surrounding the betrothal and to ensure that the girl’s well-being and rights are protected, and that her best interests, such as her education, are prioritized throughout the engagement process. She should continue her education until she reaches the legal age of marriage, and even marriage should not disrupt her education if she is still willing to continue.”
Additionally, the Council entreated the parents of the girl “to keep an eye on her and let her understand that, notwithstanding the betrothal demanded by custom.” It concluded that “she is still an infant and entitled to enjoy life and engage in youthful pranks like all others of her age.”
