A Ugandan woman who divorced her fiancé was ordered to pay him monetary damages for psychological anguish.
According to the Kanungu High Court, Richard Tumwine paid 9.4 million shillings ($2,550; £2,060) for Fortunate Kyarikunda’s law studies, which she must now repay, as well as his legal fees.
Magistrate Asanasio Mukobi ruled that Ms. Kyarikunda had broken a promise to Mr. Tumwine by canceling their engagement after four years.
The court said it was “unreasonable, a misrepresentation and a fraud” for the defendant to argue that her parents told her not to marry an older man, saying she “had all the opportunity to reject the plaintiff’s love requests at the earliest point possible and avoid interfering with his financial obligations”.
It is unknown whether Ms. Kyarikunda will appeal the decision.
According to the Monitor, the verdict is flawed because, unlike marriage, an engagement is not legally binding.
Meanwhile, Sheila Kawamara of the women’s advocacy group ED EASSI warns that there are times when a man gives money to a woman on the condition that she marries him.
