VIDEO: Ghana bids farewell to legendary Daddy Lumba after legal battle ends

Dorcas Agambila 11:46 - 13 December 2025

Daddy Lumba

The burial of celebrated Ghanaian musician Charles Kwadwo Fosu, affectionately known as Daddy Lumba, is taking place today as planned after a legal challenge that briefly threatened to delay the ceremony collapsed.

The funeral is proceeding after members of the late artiste’s maternal family, who had successfully obtained an injunction, failed to comply with a court-ordered condition to pay GH¢2 million. The Accra High Court had stipulated that the sum be deposited as an undertaking to cover costs already incurred. When the applicants failed to meet the requirement, the injunction was rendered ineffective, allowing the burial scheduled for Saturday, 13 December 2025, to go ahead.

Earlier proceedings at the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Kofi Diaba, had temporarily restrained the family head, Kofi Owusu, from overseeing the final rites and prevented Transitions Funeral Home from releasing the body. The judge noted that the affidavits before the court indicated the immediate family had been excluded from planning and underscored the importance of wider consultation in accordance with customary practice.

Shortly after issuing that order, the court reconvened and imposed a further directive, explaining that due to expenses already incurred, the applicants were required to pay GH¢2 million by 2:00 p.m. or risk losing the injunction. Justice Diaba made it clear that “the order of interlocutory injunction would be vacated” if the payment was not made by the deadline.

By the end of the day, counsel for the family head confirmed that the applicants were unable to raise the required amount. Consequently, Transitions Funeral Home was authorised to release Daddy Lumba’s remains, clearing the final obstacle to the funeral arrangements.

With the legal impasse resolved, preparations resumed in earnest at Heroes’ Park at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi. Canopies were erected, carpets rolled out, and the venue adorned with images and billboards celebrating the life and impact of one of Ghana’s most revered musical figures.

Daddy Lumba, who died on 26 July 2025 at the age of 60, was among the most influential highlife musicians in the country’s history. With a career spanning decades, he released more than 30 albums and delivered enduring classics such as Aben Wo Ha, Sika Asem and Theresa.

Today’s funeral represents a final tribute to an artiste whose music shaped generations and whose legacy remains deeply woven into Ghana’s cultural fabric.

Watch the livestream below: