Nungua Child Marriage: There is no age limit for betrothal – Legal Practitioner

A private legal practitioner and a lecturer at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) Law School, Albert Quashigah, has stated that Article 14 of the Children’s Act 1998 (ACT 560) cannot be applied to the Nungua child marriage between the 63-year-old Gborbu Wulomo and Naa Okromo.

The GaDangbe Traditional Council, after receiving several backlash from the public asserted that the union is a betrothal and not a marriage as reported.

Meanwhile, stakeholders have condemned the union and called for expedited action in protecting the rights of the girl in question, citing some laws as the basis for their calls including Article 14 of the Children’s Act 1998 (ACT 560).

In contrast, according to Albert Quashigah, the law does not stipulate any age limit for betrothal.

Article 14 of the Children’s Act 1998 (ACT 560) states that “no person shall force a child to be betrothed, to be subject of a dowry transaction, or to be married. The minimum age of marriage of whatever kind shall be 18 years”.

Speaking on Citi TV’s legal show, A Question of Law, Albert Quashigah noted that it is imperative for stakeholders to carefully understand and explain legal rules when they deal with cultural practices.

“Speaking from the cultural context, in the light of this particular provision, it says that a person shall not force a child, so what it means implicitly from that language is that the child impliedly can willingly agree. The child has the option of saying no. Because the law says no person shall force…inherent in that is to admit that although the child can refuse, the child can also agree.

“There are a lot of things our parents have agreed on our behalf. So in certain cases, the consent is not your own but from somebody else who has the capacity to grant it on your behalf. Customarily, in most marriages, the people who have gone into the marriage have little say. It is the family that marries. Cultural context matters if you want to make an interpretation on this statute.

“The argument is, okay it is a betrothal, so do we say that betrothal is a form of marriage, no. So if it is not, then the article cannot apply to the Gborbu Wulomo case. Article 14, (2) said the minimum age of marriage, not betrothal. So when it comes to betrothal, as far as I am concerned, there is no age limit”.