An Accra circuit court has sentenced a businessman to a 12-month jail term for bigamy.

This is according to an Accra-based online portal, asaaseradio.com

The accused person whose name was given as Emmanuel Kodjo Narh, is said to have a valid marriage with a nurse resident in the United States while also legally married to his wife here in Ghana.

The court presided Justice Christina Cann, stated that the suspect was earlier cleared on charges of threats to harm till the prosecution was successful in establishing the crime of bigamy.

The report stated that the complainant, whose name has been concealed, is a nurse who lives in the USA and a native of Odumase Krobo.

In June 2015, while the complainant was abroad in the USA, her property manager in Ghana called to inform her that a road leading to her property was being constructed.

According to the prosecution, the caretaker gave the complaint access to five phone numbers, including Narh's. When the complaint called the numbers, Narh answered and said he promised to deal with the problem on the property.

The report continues to explain that the complainant and Narh became friends from their first interaction and he [reference to Narh] called the complainant daily to check up on her.

In August 2015, the report added that Narh proposed to the complainant, but she declined and said she would like them to get to know each other in person first.

She also included that she would visit Ghana so they could talk about the proposal.

The prosecution, further added that the complainant and Narh met for the first time on October 26, 2015, when she arrived at the airport. On October 28, 2015, Narh proposed to the complainant with a ring, took her to see his family, and introduced her to a few of his workers.

The prosecution revealed that Narh had informed the complainant about having children with two other women without being married to them, while the complainant disclosed that she was a divorcee.

After the engagement, the complainant returned to the USA, during which Narh's family performed marriage rites at her family's house in her absence.

The complainant later discovered another marriage certificate with number SMC/028/09 dated 4 October 2008 between Narh and another woman when she returned to Ghana.

On 24 April 2016, she opted to end the marriage which le
d to physical abuse from the other woman.

The matter was reported to the police, resulting in the arrest of Narh's first wife.

Narh claimed in his statement that both women were his wives. The complainant sought to end the fictitious marriage upon returning to the USA.

On 3 June 2019, the complainant received a threatening message on WhatsApp from Narh through his son’s phone which read “We shall see, but this time, this is going to be a tribal war, I swear.”

The complainant petitioned the director general of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) through her lawyer. The matter was then referred to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) at the Police Headquarters, Accra.

The prosecution said Narh was invited and he submitted his statement indicating that the marriage between him and the complainant was a “planned thing” to facilitate documents for his daughter to travel to the USA.

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