The ex-wife of Ghanaian businessman Richard Nii Armah-Quaye, commonly known as RNAQ, Mrs Joana Quaye, has filed an appeal against a rather strange judgment of the High Court in Accra.
Joana, who is also co-founder, shareholder, and director of Quick Credit Microfinance Company Limited, now Bills, was seeking GH¢50 million and other reliefs as part of the divorce settlement.
The High Court granted Mrs Joana Quaye only GHC300,000 out of the well-known vast fortune she built with the rich businessman.
She was married to Richard Nii Armah-Quaye for sixteen (16) years and has three (3) children with him.
RNAQ’s ex-wife, Joana Quaye, reliefs demanded;
“(a) A divorce decree in favour of the Petitioner dissolving the parties’ marriage celebrated on 4th December, 2010.
(b) An order awarding custody of the three (3) children of the parties, namely, Ruphina Quaye, Brian Quaye and Brianna Quaye, to the Petitioner and granting reasonable access to the Respondent.
(c) An order directed at the Respondent for the payment of school fees and other educational expenses of the said children, as well as the payment of such maintenance pendente lite in favour of the children and thereafter such periodic payments as the honourable court may deem just.
(d) An order directing the Respondent to pay a lump sum of 50 Million Ghana Cedis to the Petitioner.
(e) An order directed at the Respondent to pay to the Petitioner maintenance pendente lite as well as the arrears of maintenance and or housekeeping monies from April, 2021 to date.
(f) An order that the following properties be settled in favour of the Petitioner;
i) H/No. 8 Jaffa Ln (GA-566-0397), Dansoman, Accra. ii) The House at East Legon, Accra. iii) A Jaguar Prestige XF (2018) model saloon car with Registration Number GN2272-18 and; iv) A Range Rover Velar SUV with Registration Number M-20-20.
(g) Costs including lawyers’ fees.
(h) Such further or other orders as the honourable court may deem fit to make”.
The Court awarded Reliefs
“1. Marriage dissolution:
The court granted a divorce, officially dissolving the marriage between the parties.
“At the close of evidence and trial, this court on the 11th day of March 2025 decreed the dissolution of the marriage contracted by the parties and cancelled the certificate so obtained under the marriage contract,” portions of the court documents read.
2. Custody of Children:
The court also awarded Joana the custody of her three children while Richard Nii Armah Quaye was granted reasonable access, including fortnightly weekend visits and shared custody during school vacations (half with each parent).
“After due consideration of the best interest of the child principle, the need of the children of a family to live and grow up as a unit, the fact that the biological mother is not impaired in any way as far as looking after the children is concerned, I feel obligated to maintain the existing arrangement which I hereby do by placing the custody of the children with the Petitioner, their biological mother with reasonable access to the Respondent who shall have custody or visitation rights at weekends fortnightly and also during vacations.
“The children shall spend the first half of every vacation with the Respondent and the other half with the Petitioner for purposes of preparing them to return to school,” the document added.
3. The court also directed RNAQ to pay all school fees and educational expenses, cover health/medical needs, as well as pay GH¢5,000 monthly maintenance for the children.
“Again, since the children will stay with the Petitioner for most of the time and even though I acknowledge the fact that maintenance and upbringing of children is a shared responsibility, I make the further order that the Respondent shall maintain the children with an amount of GH¢5,000.00 a month. This amount will be subject to review either upwards or downwards, depending on the stages of the children and as they grow up and leave home,” the document revealed.
4. 1/3 of a house in Dansoman, specifically, three bedrooms with access to shared facilities like the kitchen, sitting room, etc.
“… The 1/3 allocation should be three bedrooms in the building with access to the use of the common facilities such as the sitting room, kitchen, store and all the other rooms which I describe as making up the two-thirds are hereby settled on the Respondent,” it continued.
5. Two vehicles, including a Jaguar XF (2010 model), which, per the court documents, had earlier been delivered to Joana and affirmed and Jaguar Prestige XF (2018 model).
“From the evidence, the court has already ordered the delivery of a Jaguar XF (2010 model) to the Petitioner, and the same was accordingly handed over to her. I affirm the said order, and in addition, I further settle the Jaguar Prestige XF (2018 model) with Registration No. GN2272-18 on the Petitioner. What this means is that the Petitioner is to have the two Jaguars as her share of the matrimonial vehicles,” the document stated.
6. The court awarded her GH¢300,000 as financial relief and also awarded her GH¢10,000 as legal costs”.