The High Court (General Jurisdiction 1) in Accra has granted an application for substituted service filed by Mr. Kwadwo Adjei in a contempt of court case against Ms. Karen Baaba Sam, following an ongoing and contentious child custody dispute.
The application, filed ex parte, allows Mr. Adjei to serve legal documents through alternative means, including a public notice on the High Court’s bulletin board and publication in a national newspaper.
The decision comes after allegations that Ms. Sam has gone into hiding with their daughter, Adele Ohemaa Adjei, in defiance of subsisting court orders.
The case stems from a drawn-out custody battle at the Family Tribunal, where interim orders had granted Mr. Adjei custody and Ms. Sam fortnightly visitation.
Mr. Adjei alleges that Ms. Sam repeatedly violated these orders, including retaining the child past court-ordered return dates and absconding with her on June 11, shortly after the High Court quashed newer orders that temporarily gave her primary care.
This is the second contempt action filed against Ms. Sam, who was previously convicted for a similar offense in the same custody matter.
The court is expected to determine whether her recent conduct warrants a custodial sentence.
It emerged that a heated custody battle has taken a dramatic legal turn as Kwadwo Adjei accuses his former partner, Karen Baaba Sam, of using their daughter as a “weapon” in defiance of multiple court orders.
In an affidavit filed before the Accra High Court, Mr. Adjei urged the court to commit Ms. Sam to prison for contempt after she allegedly absconded with the child on June 11, 2025.
Mr. Adjei, who was granted interim custody by the Family Tribunal, claims Ms. Sam has systematically undermined his parental rights and disrupted the child’s education, keeping her out of school for extended periods. He describes her behavior as part of a “deliberate and sustained pattern” of violating the law.
According to court documents, Ms. Sam has previously been convicted of contempt in the same case, yet continued to disobey judicial directives.
The situation raises urgent questions about the welfare of the child and enforcement of custodial rights in Ghana’s family justice system.
Children’s rights advocates have called for a more balanced enforcement of family court rulings to prevent children from becoming collateral damage in parental disputes.