An Accra Circuit Court presided over by Justice Mrs. Christiana Effah-Donkor-Cann has ordered the CEO of Quick Angels Ghana Limited, Richard Nii Armah Quaye to file his defence in a case of domestic violence brought against him by his wife, Joana Quaye, on August 10, 2022.
The accused had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges, leaving the prosecution with a burden to prove his guilt. After the prosecution had closed their case on March 16, 2023, counsel for the accused told the court they were going to file a submission of no case in the matter because they were of the firm belief that no case had been made against their client.
But upon analysing the case in the face of the charges, evidence, facts, and the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732), the court concluded that the prosecution succeeded in making a case against the accused and therefore ordered him to open his defence.
“Accordingly, the submission of no case filed by on April 3, 2023 on behalf of the accused person is accordingly dismissed,” the ruling stated.
If found guilty, Richard Nii Armah Quaye will be liable to a fine not more than five hundred penalty unit (GHS6,000) or to a term of imprisonment not more than two years.
Facts of the Case
Per the facts of the case, the first prosecution witness (PW1), Mrs. Joana Quaye, wife of the accused and mother of their three children, on July 30, 2022 reported to the Accra Regional office of DOVVSU that her husband had kicked her out of their Dansoman Exhibition matrimonial home and thrown her things out in her absence.
The prosecutor told the court that on the said date, PW1 had visited her parents and three children at their Mamprobi three-bedroom rented home and was about to return to her matrimonial home when a group of men met her on the compound and threw about 20 checked bags of items claiming her husband, the accused sent them to bring the items which were her belongings.
Apparently, the accused, Richard Quaye, who was then living in another house at East Legon, had decided to move back into his matrimonial home but was not ready to live under the same roof with his wife of 12 years due to their own domestic issues that started about a year ago, over accusations of infidelity.
But according to him, he had used the East Legon house as collateral for some business loan and his creditors were after him for the property so he had no choice than to move back into his Dansoman house.
His reason for packing out his wife’s items from the Dansoman house in her absence, was therefore to compel her to stay with the children and her parents at the Mamprobi house, which he rented for them, just to avoid the animosity between them.
The accused person said he was tired of the daily false accusations of infidelity, which made him move out of his matrimonial home in the first place.
The prosecutor said upon receiving the report from PW1, Joana Quaye, and speaking with two other witnesses, they paid a visit to the Mamprobi house were they found about 20 checked bags containing the belongings of PW1 in the hall; and they also visited the Dansoman house where they found it was under a metal chain locked with a padlock.
According to him, on August 8, 2022 the accused person was then arrested, following which he was charged with domestic violence after investigations.
Hajia4Reall and Quick Angels
It would be recalled that in June 2020, Richard Nii Armah Quaye’s Quick Angels signed a partnership deal with the embattled Ghanaian socialite, Mona Faiz Montrage, aka Hajia4Reall, who is now facing trial in the United States of America for romance fraud in which she allegedly stole about US$2 million from several retired US citizens.
Hajia4Reall signed a multi-million cedi deal with Richard Quaye’s Quick Angels and was made the CEO of one of the company’s brands named after her, Mona 4Real Limited, which manages her music career and brand as a person.
A short while after the signing, photos went viral on social media showing Richard Quaye showering dollar bills on Hajia4Reall at her birthday party, which unconfirmed reports say was part of the reasons that fuelled the accusations of infidelity in Richard Quaye’s marriage.
Hajia4Real was arrested in the UK where she was then attending Ghana Music Awards UK as a guest artiste, and was extradited to the US to face six counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering among others.
Security and Fraud Expert, Richard Kumadoe told Techfocus24 that if found guilty, all investment interests directly and indirectly linked to Hajia4Reall will be confiscated and the companies involved could be blacklisted and their directors could also be sanctioned if found to be accomplices and or beneficiaries.
So far in Ghana, Hajia4Reall’s main investment known to the public is the partnership deal with Quick Angels in June 2020. She was also recently named the brand Ambassador for a fashion house at East Legon, called C LUX.