Fresh testimony in the ongoing legal battle over the marital status of the late highlife legend Daddy Lumba has taken a dramatic turn, as his elder sister, Ernestina Fosuh, firmly denied that her brother ever married Priscilla Ofori, widely known as Odo Broni.

Speaking under oath before a Kumasi High Court, Ernestina Fosu — also called Akosua Brempomaah — acknowledged that the relationship between the two produced six children, including one named after her.

However, she insisted that despite the long-standing bond, no customary or civil marriage existed between them.

Her statement supports the case of Akosua Serwaa Fosuh, who is asking the Court to recognise her as the sole legitimate wife of the late musician and to bar Odo Broni from presenting herself as such. Akosua Serwaa argues that she alone holds both the customary and civil marriage ties to the late artiste.

Ernestina told the court that her late brother confided in her regularly. She explained that he returned to Ghana to attend to his housing project and seek treatment for a back injury he sustained in an accident.

When questioned about why the legal wife did not join him in Ghana, she said Daddy Lumba advised against frequent visits because of high travel costs and a €50,000 loan he allegedly took in Germany.

Defence lawyers dismissed the claim, but Ernestina maintained it was information given to her directly.

Tensions rose when defence counsel confronted her with a video and audio recording in which she appeared to refer to Odo Broni as her sister-in-law. The recordings were admitted after the plaintiff’s team raised no objections.

Ernestina stood by her position that Akosua Serwaa was the musician’s only wife, pointing to the customary marriage held in Bomso in 1991 and the civil ceremony in Germany in 2004 — both of which she said she personally witnessed.

She acknowledged that although Odo Broni cared for the musician during periods of ill health, it did not translate into a marital union.

She further rejected suggestions that another woman, Theresah Abrebrese, performed the in-law rites at their mother’s funeral, insisting the role was carried out by Akosua Serwaa.

Before proceedings ended, lawyers for Odo Broni challenged Ernestina’s account of where the musician underwent surgery, stating that he was treated at FOCOS Hospital in 2013 and not at Tantra Hills, as she claimed.

The court adjourned for Ernestina Fosuh to resume her testimony on Wednesday as the contentious case continues.