Daddy Lumba’s Funeral to Proceed on Saturday After Maternal Family Fails to Pay GH¢2 Million Deposit
The funeral of Ghanaian highlife legend Daddy Lumba will go ahead on Saturday, December 13, 2025, as originally scheduled, after his maternal family failed to meet a court-ordered deposit of GH¢2 million required to enforce an injunction against the burial.
Damian Owusu 
The funeral of Ghanaian highlife legend Daddy Lumba will go ahead on Saturday, December 13, 2025, as originally scheduled, after his maternal family failed to meet a court-ordered deposit of GH¢2 million required to enforce an injunction against the burial.
Earlier on Friday, the High Court granted an interim injunction restraining family head Kofi Owusu and Transitions Funeral Home from organizing the final funeral rites. The injunction was sought by members of Lumba’s maternal family, including Ernestina Brempomaa Fosuh and Yaw Opoku, who argued that they had been sidelined in funeral preparations. The court ruled that the family head must consult the immediate family in planning the funeral and convene a stakeholder meeting within three weeks to agree on a new burial date.
Shortly after issuing the injunction, the court reconvened and ordered that unless the applicants deposited GH¢2 million by 2 p.m. Friday, the injunction would be vacated. The deposit was meant to cover potential damages and costs incurred due to disruption of pre-arranged funeral rites. By close of day, lawyers for the family head confirmed that the maternal relatives were unable to raise the amount, effectively nullifying the injunction.
The ruling was grounded in a Practice Direction (2024) guiding courts on injunctions against burials. It draws from the precedent case Neequaye and Another v Okoe [1993-94] 1 GLR 538, which established that the corpse of a deceased person is under the authority of the family, both immediate and extended. Courts generally refuse late applications to restrain burials unless compelling reasons are provided, including adequate undertakings for damages.
With the injunction vacated, Transitions Funeral Home has been directed to release Daddy Lumba’s body to the family head. The funeral will proceed on Saturday as planned, despite earlier disputes over who should lead the arrangements. The case underscores the importance of family consensus in funeral planning, especially for public figures whose burials carry cultural and social significance.
