The Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has petitioned the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) demanding the arrest, investigation and prosecution of Gborbu Wulomo, a 63-year-old traditional leader, for allegedly marrying a 12-year-old girl.
The lawyer and MP argued that the marriage violates both local and international laws on child care and protection.
The traditional marriage ceremony which the priest has clarified as bethrotal occurred on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Nungua.
But lawyer Sosu in his petition addressed to the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 described the action as “illegal, null and void”.
He stated that according to Ghanaian law, a child under 18 cannot enter marriage.
He stressed that the international conventions Ghana has signed onto prohibits child betrothals and marriages.
He cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
“ARTICLE 16 OF THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW) states that women should have the same right as men to “freely choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent”, and that the “betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage.
“In addition to the above, I wish to respectfully state that, beyond the realm of International Law, Ghana has taken further steps to criminalise Child Marriages and Betrothals in all its ramifications. In Particular, ARTICLE 28 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution defines a child as a person below the age of eighteen years. In the spirit of Article 28 every child and young person must “receive special protection against exposure to physical and moral hazards”
Read the petition below
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
