The counsel for Mrs Joana Quaye, the former wife of businessman Richard Nii Armah Quaye (RNAQ), has filed an application for an order compelling payment of maintenance and variation of the custody and access to the children granted to RNAQ by the court.
According to reports, the application resulted in a fierce examination of the lifestyle of his well-known concubine, Mona Montrage, aka Hajia 4 Real, during proceedings at the High Court, Accra, on Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026.
In an application filed on behalf of Mrs Joana Quaye on 21st May, 2026, by her lawyers, Dame & Partners, Mrs Quaye prayed the High Court to vary the custody orders given by the court in its judgment by limiting custody and access given to RNAQ every fortnight to one weekend per month.
She sought the High Court to prevent “a concubine of the Respondent, Mona Montrage aka Hajia For Real, from having access to the children of the children”. She finally applied for an order compelling RNAQ to pay the paltry sum of GHC5,000 awarded by the Court as maintenance for the three children since he has not been paying in accordance with the orders of the court.
Arguing the application, counsel for Mrs Joana Quaye told the court that the grant of fortnightly access to the RNAQ exposes the children to unnecessary moral and social hazards. He explained that due to his busy schedule, RNAQ is virtually unavailable whenever he has custody of the children and consequently hands over the care and supervision of the children to Hajia For Real. Mr Dame referred to an exhibit filed by Mrs Quaye in court to prove that Mona Montrage (Hajia 4 Real) is an ex-convict, having been convicted of fraud and a romance scam in the United States of America as recently as 2024.
Hajia For Real’s lifestyle and the living arrangements at the Trassacco house, which, according to counsel, expose the children to harmful influences, including moral degradation, exposure to criminal tendencies, lack of proper role modelling, psychological harm, social stigma, and potential endangerment of their physical and emotional well-being.
In the view of Mr Dame, the presence of a person who has recently been convicted of fraud and romance scams in the children’s immediate environment and her responsibility for a part of their upbringing create an unsafe and unstable atmosphere that is not conducive to the proper upbringing and development of Mrs Quaye’s children.
Mr Dame noted that, in Hajia For Real’s overzealous effort to show the public that she is “bonding” with my children, she frequently takes videos, including some explicit ones, with the children and posts them on social media, exposing them to various dangers.
He stated that numerous videos and pictures uploaded by RNAQ and Hajia For Real on the internet, TikTok and YouTube, some of which Mrs Quaye had filed in court, show that the two are intentionally using the custody arrangements to portray a false pretence to the public that they are a caring and responsible couple when in reality RNAQ is not present or available to the children.
It was therefore important that access by RNAQ and Hajia 4 Real to the children be reduced by the Court until such time that RNAQ can have a better family environment, so as to minimise the children’s exposure to the morally depraved acts and undesirable influence of Hajia 4 Real.
On the issue of maintenance, he stated that consistent with his attitude of nonchalance and disregard for the interests of the children, RNAQ has been failing to discharge his obligation to pay the paltry and unrealistic amount of GH¢5,000 monthly ordered by the court to be paid for the upkeep of the three children of the marriage.
Even when he decides to pay, he habitually delays until the end of the second week or the beginning of the third week of the ensuing month, before paying the monthly maintenance of GHC5,000.
Mr Dame submitted that this results in Mrs. Quaye bearing needs affecting the welfare of the children of the marriage, particularly their Nutritional Needs, Educational Requirements, Healthcare and Medical Needs, Clothing and transportation needs, since the 2010 model Jaguar cars awarded by the court to her are both not in good condition. She therefore uses a Daewoo Matiz car to convey the children of the marriage.
Counsel for RNAQ, Nana Mensah-Bonsu, led by Sean Poku, opposed the application and submitted that Hajia 4 Real had to be heard on the application filed by Mrs Quaye since the same affected her rights as a person who was not a party to the proceedings. A grant of the orders prayed for would be injurious to her natural justice rights. He further asserted that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application since it was being made post judgment.
On the video evidence presented by Mr Dame to demonstrate the lifestyle and “twerking” tendencies of Hajia 4 Real, Mr Mensah-Bonsu reserved his argument until after the court had had the opportunity to watch the videos.
After the rather lengthy argument of both counsel, the court adjourned proceedings to 26th June, 2026 to watch the graphic video evidence presented by Mrs Quaye and also to hear arguments in support of an application for injunction pending appeal filed by Mrs Quaye.
