A Ghanaian man working in Dubai, Philip Asumang, has asked for GH¢100,000 from his former fiancée after she sold a house he paid to build on her mother's land, according to Yen News. He made the demand on Oyerepa Afutuo, the Oyerepa TV programme that handles domestic and relationship disputes, in an episode broadcast on October 22, 2026. The woman, Florence, confirmed on the programme that the relationship had ended and that the house had been sold.
Why it matters
The case has drawn public attention because it combines two issues Ghanaians argue about often: money sent home by citizens working abroad, and what happens to property when a relationship collapses. Yen News reports that Philip's total spending on the relationship and the building project went beyond GH¢100,000. The dispute also shows how quickly an informal family arrangement, in this case land offered by a partner's mother, can become a legal and emotional problem once the couple separates.
How the relationship began
According to Yen News, Philip and Florence's mother, known as Maa Vic, met around 2020 when both were trading in bread in the Ashanti Region. The friendship between Philip and Maa Vic grew, and she later suggested he meet one of her daughters. Philip could not make a choice at that first meeting, so Maa Vic picked Florence for him herself.
Florence turned down his first marriage proposal, but her mother encouraged her to think again, and the two eventually became a couple. Maa Vic then offered them part of her land to build on when they could afford it, Yen News reports.
It was also through Florence's family that Philip got his job abroad. Florence told him her mother had met a travel agent at church who could help him find work overseas. He moved to Dubai and started sending money back to Ghana to put up the house on the land Maa Vic had given them.
The sale and the demand
Once the building was finished, Florence ended the relationship. Maa Vic first suggested a compromise: the land would be divided so that Philip kept the house and Florence took a separate portion. Nothing was finalised before Philip got a call telling him Florence had already sold the property, according to Yen News.
He came back to Ghana to deal with the matter in person. "What I need right now is that I need my GH¢100,000 that I spent on the project from them," he said on the programme.
Philip also said Florence had wanted to wait until marriage before having sex, a boundary he said he respected, and that what he spent on the relationship and the house together came to more than GH¢100,000. At a later meeting arranged to settle the dispute, Maa Vic said he owed her money, which added a further point of disagreement.
Speaking on the programme, Florence said the relationship was over and accepted that the house had been sold. She said her family had given Philip GH¢12,000 towards his travel costs to Dubai, and that part of the money from the sale was needed to pay for her younger sister's education.
Yen News also noted that it had previously reported on what can happen in Ghana when someone builds on a partner's land and the relationship later ends. That report referred to a 2025 Supreme Court case involving a husband who built an unfinished house on land his wife had acquired. The court upheld a property settlement, but the ruling did not establish that a house built on a partner's land always belongs to the person who owns the land.
What happens next is unclear. Philip has stated the amount he wants, and Florence has given her reasons for the sale, but there is no indication that the matter has been resolved or taken to court.
