Ghana: Inheritance according to the Muslim faith in the Brong Ahafo region
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | GHA27433.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ghana: Inheritance according to the Muslim faith in the Brong Ahafo region, 1 August 1997, GHA27433.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac6d23.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on Muslim inheritance practices in the Brong Ahafo region could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB. However, an article published in the Canadian Journal of African Studies (CJAS) provides general information on marriage and inheritance under the Muslim Law, which you may be useful. According to this source, marriage may be contracted under "the Marriage of the Mohammedans Ordinance" (CJAS 1990, 3). The article further states that, under Islamic Law, "men are permitted to marry up to a maximum of four wives" and that "relevant" Koranic Laws govern "the transfer of intestate property" (ibid., 7). The article indicates that the distribution of property allocated to female and male children is not equal under Muslim Law and that the Intestate Succession Law 1985, promulgated by the government of the Provisional National Defence Council government in 1985 does not take this into consideration (ibid, 10).
The memorandum to the the Intestate Succession Law 1985 notes that
The Marriage of Mohammedan's Ordinance, Cap. 129, ... is hardly ever enforced. Its registration provisions are probably not known to many Muslims, and the existence and situation of registers is even less common knowledge either to Muslims or to the legal profession: So that the condition precedent for the application of Islamic rules of succession is not often satisfied.
Besides, the rules are quite complicated, and it should be possible to simplify them, particularly in the course of an effort to unify the rules of succession prevailing in the country (1985, i).
For additional information on this topic, please consult the attachments to Response to Information Request GHA27434.E of 14 August 1997.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Canadian Journal of African Studies [Toronto]. 1990. Vol. 24, No. 1. Kofi Awusabo-Asare. "Matriliny and the New Intestate Succession Law of Ghana."
Republic of Ghana. 1985. Intestate Succession Law, 1985 III. Accra: Republic of Ghana.
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential [London]. Weekly.
Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [London]. Monthly.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996. 1997.
The Europa World Year Book 1996. 1996. 37th ed. Vol. 2. London: Europa Publications.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. 1996.
Human Rights Watch World Report. 1996, 1997.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. 1996-1997.
New African [London]. Monthly.
West Africa [London]. Weekly.
On-line search on NEXIS database.
Two oral sources consulted did not provide information on requested the subject.