An Accra Circuit Court has ordered a businessman to pay GH₵200,000 in damages to a woman after finding he breached his promise to marry her following the breakdown of their long-term relationship. The ruling was delivered on February 16, 2026 and granted the woman full financial benefits in her counterclaim.
The case began when Vince Kontoh, a man in his 60s, had filed for the woman’s ejectment from his property at Nortey Loop in East Legon where she had been living. In response, the woman filed a counterclaim for breach of promise to marry, claiming that Kontoh had promised to marry her but later refused to fulfil that promise. The Circuit Court presided over by Her Ladyship Sedinam Awo Kwadam considered evidence including the promise ring and shared life arrangements that were presented during the relationship.
After examining the facts, the court ruled in favour of the woman and ordered Kontoh to pay a total of GH₵200,000, made up of GH₵150,000 in compensation for the breach and GH₵50,000 in general damages for distress caused by the broken promise. The judgment also declared that the woman has a beneficial interest in the two-bedroom apartment she occupies, and she may continue to use certain assets such as a Toyota RAV4 and an industrial blender, which Kontoh did not claim. Additionally, the court fixed GH₵20,000 in legal costs against Kontoh in favour of the woman.
A breach of promise to marry in Ghana is a legal action that allows a person to seek compensation when a promise of marriage that they reasonably relied on is not fulfilled, and the courts may award damages in appropriate cases.
