Parents’ Consent Irrelevant, Marriage Illegal at 12 When Minimum Age is 18 – Nana Oye

Former Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, has emphasized that even if the parents of the 12-year-old girl who married the 63-year-old Gborbu Wulomo consented to the union, the act remains illegal.

She called upon the state to initiate legal proceedings against those involved in conducting the marriage rite.

Speaking to Accra-based TV3, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo stressed that it is the legal responsibility of the Government of Ghana to intervene in such cases. She highlighted that the marriage contravenes the Children Act, the 1992 Constitution, and international conventions on children’s rights, making it unlawful.

“I am expecting that with immediate effect the state ought to have intervened to address the issue because what has happened is a crime and is unlawful under our Children Act, under our 1992 Constitution and we have ratified the international convention on the rights of children’s. So it is clearly unlawful, I expect the state to intervene and to also protect the girl.”

“Whether the parents are consented or not is immaterial, our law is very clear that the minimum age of marriage of whatever kind shall be 18 years. You can only get married in Ghana if you are 18 years and above, she added.

Nana Oye reiterated that under Ghanaian law, the minimum age for marriage is 18 years, regardless of parental consent. She emphasized that marriage in Ghana is only permissible for individuals aged 18 years and above.