A Ghanaian private legal practitioner has estimated that close to 70% of divorce cases in recent times are caused by adultery.
Richard Sena Hotor who works with Parkwood Mossane said this in a conversation on Joy Prime’s Morning Show on Monday while outlining some proof showing that a marriage is broken beyond reconciliation.
Adultery, being one of the facts, is, according to him, the leading cause of divorce issues among couples.
“The person comes to you and begins to tell his or her story that I found out my wife or husband is having an affair somewhere else, and the person even goes further to say that I even heard that he has two children somewhere else. That is evidence to prove that adultery has happened.”
“So, one of the first facts one can use to establish that a marriage has broken down beyond reconciliation is that one of the parties has committed adultery.
“You’ll be amazed to hear that in most cases, without any empirical data, I can say off the top of my head that over 60% or 70% of all divorce proceedings are anchored on this very first one,” he cited.
This, Lawyer Sena said, mostly affects the partners emotionally, psychologically, and physically, as some may attract diseases due to the actions of the other party.
Although he strongly supports the togetherness of families, he advised that one can opt-out if the marriage becomes a threat to his or her life.
However, when a person’s divorce problem is based on adultery and a child is involved, the individual is urged to provide evidence before filing a petition.
“If your problem is grounded in the first fact, which is adultery, you would have to establish that the person involved, either the husband or the spouse, has had sexual intercourse with the third party.”
With documentation of all evidence, the victim is allowed to prove the first allegation before the law court.
Lawyer Sena also mentioned that divorce is not the only way to dissolve one’s marriage. “It can also be annulled through what we call the nullity proceeding,” he said.
So far, he has pointed out three proofs that show that a marriage is broken beyond reconciliation: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, and desertion.
The divorce series is on Prime Morning between Monday and Thursday throughout July. Viewers are urged to tune in for more insights on the proofs and issues about divorce.
Within the first quarter of 2022, overall research shows that somewhere between 15-50% of divorces are due to infidelity or adultery, although the American Psychological Association narrows that estimate to about 20-40%.
