(Right) Nana Kwadwo Adjei and Karen Baaba Sam (Left)
Karen Baaba Sam, the young mother at the heart of a child custody battle with the father of her six-year-old daughter, has filed a motion at the High Court seeking an order to set aside an ‘illegally obtained’ High Court order which permitted Nana Kwadwo Adjei to serve her his contempt application by substituted service.
The motion is expected to be moved on Thursday, 24 July 2025. Ms Baaba Sam argues in her affidavit in support of the motion that the High Court, which permitted Nana Adjei to serve her committal for contempt of court processes, demonstrated its prejudice against her. She adds it also violated her constitutionally guaranteed right to due process.
Justification
Ms Baaba Sam deposed in her affidavit that on 27 June 2025, an order for substituted service of the said contempt application was posted on the walls of her lawyers’ offices, purporting to serve her through her lawyers with Nana Adjei’s contempt application filed on 23 June 2025.
She caused her lawyers to obtain copies of the application for substituted service and the proceedings of 25 June 2025.
Upon review of the application for substituted service, Ms Karen notes that aside from Nana Adjei’s mere allegations, he did not show in his application that the mandatory attempts to serve her had been made and failed.
She further argues that Nana Adjei did not provide any such proof of failed service before applying for and being granted the order for service by substitution.
“There was also no evidence whatsoever furnished that any prior attempt had also been duly authorized and made to serve the contempt application on my lawyers to warrant the order of the Court authorizing processes to be posted on my lawyers’ office premises in purported service of the contempt application.
“What is even more egregious is that the record shows that on 23 June 2025 at 11:02 am, barely 8 minutes from the filing of the contempt application, the Applicant (Nana Adjei) filed an ex parte application to serve me (Karen Baaba Sam) with the contempt application through substituted service,” Ms Baaba Sam stated in her affidavit.
“By Nana Adjei’s showing in his motion for substituted service, not even a single attempt was made within the 8 minutes interval to serve me (Karen Baaba Sam) with the contempt application and yet he applied, ex parte, for orders to serve me by substituted service, which application the Court also presided over and granted.
“The ex-parte application for substituted service and the 25 June 2025 order of the Court offends the mandatory rules and the well-laid-out procedure for applying for and obtaining an order for substituted service of processes,” the affidavit deposed to by Karen Baaba Sam read.
Ms Sam posits that by the action of Nana Adjei and the Court, her right to due process has been violated. She argues further that the 25 June 2025 order was obtained unlawfully and illegally, and the court wrongfully and illegally issued the same. It is on these grounds that she prays the court to set aside the order.
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