The Accra High Court has ordered Transitions Funeral Home to immediately release the mortal remains of highlife legend Daddy Lumba to the Abusuapanyin, Kofi Owusu, for the planned funeral and burial on Saturday, December 13, 2025.
Justice Kwasi Anokye Gyimah, in a dramatic turn of events on Friday afternoon, ruled that the maternal family of the late musician (real name Charles Kwadwo Fosu) failed to deposit the GH¢2 million security bond he had imposed as a condition for continuing an interim injunction that blocked the funeral.
The court had on Thursday set a deadline of 2:00 pm Friday for the maternal relatives – who obtained the initial injunction earlier in the week – to pay the amount to cover expenses already incurred by the Abusuapanyin and the funeral home.
When lawyers for the maternal family returned to court after the deadline without the money, the judge declared the injunction automatically lapsed.
The maternal family had argued that Akan customary law demands wider consultation with the immediate family, including the maternal side, before final rites are performed. They accused the Abusuapanyin of excluding them and mismanaging funeral funds.
Although the court had earlier acknowledged the need for broader family consultation and directed the Abusuapanyin to organise a stakeholder meeting within three weeks, it stressed that the advanced stage of preparations and the short notice of the injunction required financial protection for those who had already spent heavily.
Lawyers for the maternal relatives pleaded unsuccessfully for the bond to be reduced, describing the GH¢2 million figure as “exorbitant and punitive.”
With the injunction now lifted, the funeral of Daddy Lumba, who passed away on July 26, 2025, will go ahead as planned on Saturday at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, followed by his burial at an undisclosed location.