Joana Quaye
An application filed by counsel for Ms. Joana Quaye, the former wife of businessman, Richard Nii Armah Quaye (RNAQ) for an order compelling payment of maintenance and variation of the custody and access to the children granted to RNAQ by the court, has resulted in a fierce examination of the lifestyle of his well-known concubine, Mona Montrage aka Hajia4Reall.
In an application filed on behalf of Joana Quaye on May 21, 2026 by her lawyers, Dame & Partners, Ms. Quaye prayed the High Court to vary the custody orders given by the court in its judgment by limiting custody and access given to RNAQ every fortnight to one weekend per month.
She sought the High Court to prevent “a concubine of the Respondent, Mona Montrage aka Hajia4Reall, from having access to the children.”
She finally applied for an order compelling RNAQ to pay the paltry sum of GH¢5,000 awarded by the court as maintenance for the three children since he has not been paying in accordance with the orders of the court.
Arguing the application, Godfred Yeboah Dame, counsel for Ms. Quaye, told the court that the grant of fortnightly access to RNAQ exposes the children to unnecessary moral and social hazards.
He explained that due to his busy schedule, RNAQ is virtually unavailable whenever he has custody of the children and consequently hands over the care and supervision of the children to Hajia4Reall.
Mr. Dame referred to an exhibit filed by Ms. Quaye in court to prove that Hajia4Reall is an ex-convict, having been convicted of fraud and romance scam in the United States of America as recently as 2024.
Hajia4Reall’s lifestyle and the living arrangements at the Trasacco house, according to counsel, expose the children to harmful influences, including moral degradation, exposure to criminal tendencies, lack of proper role modeling, psychological harm, social stigma, and potential endangerment of their physical and emotional well-being.
In the view of Mr. Dame, the presence of a person who has recently been convicted of fraud and romance scam in the children’s immediate environment and her responsibility for a part of their upbringing create an unsafe and unstable atmosphere, which is not conducive to the proper upbringing and development of Ms. Quaye’s children.
Mr. Dame noted that, in Hajia4Reall’s over-zealous effort to show to the public that she is “bonding” with the children, she frequently takes videos, including some explicit ones, with the children, and posts them on social media, exposing them to various dangers.
He stated that numerous videos and pictures uploaded by RNAQ and Hajia4Reall on the internet, TikTok and YouTube, some of which Ms. Quaye had filed in court, show that the two are intentionally using the custody arrangements to portray a false pretence to the public that they are a caring and responsible couple when in reality RNAQ is not present or available to the children.
They argue that it was therefore important that access by RNAQ and Hajia4Reall to the children be reduced by the court until such time that RNAQ can have a better family environment, so as to minimise the children’s exposure to the morally depraved acts and undesirable influence of Hajia4Reall.
On the issue of maintenance, Mr. Dame stated that consistent with his attitude of nonchalance and disregard for the interests of the children, RNAQ has been failing to discharge his obligation to pay the paltry and unrealistic amount of GH¢5,000 monthly ordered by the court to be paid for the upkeep of the three children of the marriage.
Even when he decides to pay, he habitually delays until the end of the second week or the beginning of the third week of the ensuing month, before paying the monthly maintenance.
Mr. Dame submitted that this results in Ms. Quaye bearing needs affecting the welfare of the children of the marriage, particularly their nutritional needs, educational requirements, healthcare and medical needs, clothing and transportation needs, since the 2010 model Jaguar cars awarded by the court to her are both not in good condition.
She, therefore, uses a Daewoo Matiz car to convey the children of the marriage.
Counsel for RNAQ, Nana Mensah-Bonsu led by Sean Poku, opposed the application and submitted that Hajia4Reall had to be heard on the application filed by Ms. Quaye since same affected her rights as a person who was not a party to the proceedings.
He said a grant of the orders prayed for would be injurious to her natural justice rights.
He further asserted that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application since it was being made post judgment.
On the video evidence presented by Mr. Dame to demonstrate the lifestyle and “twerking” tendencies of Hajia4Reall, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu reserved his argument until after the court had had the opportunity to watch the videos.
The court adjourned proceedings to June 26, 2026, to watch the video evidence and also to hear arguments in support of an application for injunction pending appeal filed by Ms. Quaye.
A Daily Guide Report