In a rare but compelling twist on Nhyira FM’s Obra Show, a farmer has secured justice in a divorce battle that challenged the usual gender narratives.
Maxwell Kwasi Owusu, a vegetable farmer, stood his ground and fought for his fair share of properties acquired during his marriage, and won.
He told the Show how his wife, who was once a meat trader, abandoned her trade to support him. She began selling his farm produce, and through their combined efforts, they built two houses—including a storey building—and acquired other assets.
But that partnership has now turned sour. His wife filed for divorce and allegedly threw him out, insisting she solely funded the properties, and he had no entitlement to them.
“She didn’t build those houses alone,” Mr. Owusu declared. “She sold my farm produce, but I grew them. We did this together,” he said.
When the wife appeared on the Obra Show, she admitted to selling her husband’s produce but claimed she always paid for the goods, insisting she had her own funds before getting involved in the man’s farming business.
She also denied forcing him out of the house but blamed his infidelity for the breakdown of their marriage.
The wife shocked listeners when she claimed that a curse placed by Maxwell’s new lover had made it impossible for them to have sex for two years.
According to her, any attempt at intimacy would result in her death. “I didn’t want to die. That’s why I stayed away from him,” she said.
The man admitted he had gone in for another woman, but only because his wife denied him his marital rights for two years. “She shut me out. What was I supposed to do? I’ve moved on now, and I want to marry the new woman,” he stated.
Show Host, Ohemaa Akosua Benewa, acknowledged the wife’s sacrifices but pointed out that her unwillingness to acknowledge man’s role in building their life was unjust. “Let’s call a spade a spade. The man worked hard too. The real issue here is not pain—it’s pride, and perhaps a little bitterness,” Ohemaa stated.
The emotional standoff reached its climax when the Obra team handed the case over to legal experts.
After careful review, the law sided with the man – any property acquired during the course of a legal marriage is subject to equitable distribution, and Mr. Owusu was entitled to a share.
The verdict was clear: he gets a fair share of the house.
“This is not about men versus women,” Ohemaa emphasized. “It’s about fairness. If the roles were reversed and a woman had worked side by side with a man only to be left out in the cold, we would all scream for justice. This time, a man fought—and he won, and rightly so”.