Sister-in-law disrupts wedding

The normally quiet community of Salosi, a suburb of Somanya in the Yilo Krobo district, was recently held spellbound when an enraged woman stormed a private wedding ceremony and disrupted it.

She claimed the yet-to-be wedded woman, Joyce Bornyaki Djaba, 30, was her brother's wedded wife.

For minutes, bemused invitees held their breath as the invader, Mercy Doku, threw pictures of her brother and Joyce at their wedding at the pastor.

When calm was restored, the pastor quickly declared the wedding illegal and left the scene.

However, the following day the determined families of the couple went ahead with the ceremony and finished with it.

According to Joyce's family head, Sipim Tei Kofi, it all started in 2000 when one Mr Abraham Tetteh-Doku from Trom-Oyirede, near Koforidua, asked the family's permission to marry Joyce. When he later performed all the necessary rites, the marriage was blessed at the Church of Pentecost at Trom-Oyirede.

Sipim Tei said barely four years after the marriage, Mercy Doku, Abraham's elder sister, started pestering Joyce for her inability to have children.

He said Mercy eventually threw Joyce out of her matrimonial home and the case was reported to the pastor who had blessed the marriage.

As a result of her being driven away, Joyce gave the wedding ring and the Bible to her mother-in-law and Mercy and quietly left her matrimonial home.

Sipim Tei said Joyce then left for Tema, where Abraham followed and attacked her.

The incident was reported to the Ports and Harbours Police, who arrested him. Later, Abraham was released when the police became satisfied that the marriage between him and Joyce had been dissolved. Abraham was subsequently bonded to be of good behaviour.

He said recently Joyce introduced her new husband to the family and, since she did not have a husband, the family agreed and fixed July 7, this year, for the marriage ceremony.

He said the drama started unfolding when the family heard rumours that Mercy had planned to disrupt the marriage because she claimed Joyce was still married to her brother.

So the family went to the Somanya Police Station to make a report, only to be told that Mercy had already reported a similar case, supporting her case with pictures of the first wedding.

Sipim Tei said since Joyce was not legally attached to any man, the family went ahead with the programme at home until Mercy and her group, accompanied by a policeman, appeared on the scene, and gave the past wedding pictures to the pastor.

He said even though initially Mercy succeeded in disrupting the ceremony, the family went ahead with the blessing at home the following day.

Joyce, for her part, threatened to sue her former sister-in-law for disgracing her in public.

The police at Somanya confirmed the incident and said they had advised Joyce's family to suspend the ceremony until the two sides ironed out their dif¬ferences.

Meanwhile, Joyce, now Mrs Joyce Bornayaki Dautey, has settled with her new husband in Tema.