According to the research, most flamboyant weddings characterized by pomp and pageantry held in certain churches are not recognized in view of the fact that venues or officiating ministers are not gazetted by the Attorney-General to become marriage officers and therefore such marriages are invalid under Section 74 of the Marriages Act 1884-1985, Cap 127.
Project leader Lawyer Naa Dromo Djarbeng who spoke to MyNews about the research indicated that it was conducted a year ago and shockingly, names of prominent religious leaders and their churches emerged.
She described marriages held at such venues as mere ceremonies without any legal effect just like birthdays and ordinary parties.
“We set out to find out if some of these religious leaders and their and their churches or venues were gazetted by Attorney-General to become marriage officers, shockingly it emerged that they were not. It therefore implies that marriages they have officiated over the years are invalid”, she shockingly revealed.
She added that many of those affected were equally shocked at the outcome of the research when confronted with the reality.
Invalid marriages
Many people are contracting invalid marriages under Section 74 of the Marriage Act because of non-compliance with the strict requirements under the Marriages Act,1884-1985, Cap 127.
There are alleged reports of marriage ceremonies being held in private homes under the supervision of some officers of some metropolitan assemblies without a special licence issued by the Registrar of Marriages, which makes those marriages invalid.
Registrars of marriages in the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies were required under Section 71 of the Marriages Act (Cap 127) to forward books of marriage certificates, counterfoils, duplicate certificates and certified copies of all entries made during the preceding month in the Marriage Register book of the district to the Principal Registrar of Marriages within 10 days after the last day of each month, and the Principal Registrar of Marriages was to file same in its office.
Click link below to see if your marriage is valid or invalid
Official Licensed Marriage Venues in Ghana
Source: MyNewsGh.com/2021
