Woman rejects Shs2m pay offer for cancelled wedding

A woman, who made headlines after dragging her fiancé to court for refusing to wed her, has rejected the Shs2 million offered to her as compensation. Ms Catherine Kalembe took Mr Emma Mutaka to court in August, demanding Shs20 million as compensation.

Last Thursday, however, when the two appeared before Iganga Chief Magistrate Court Susan Kanyange, it was revealed that since the case had been adjourned three months ago, the couple had not come to an agreement.

“Your Lordship, I wanted to continue with the relationship and later wed her as she wanted but she refused. She told me she was no longer interested in marriage and wanted to be compensated. I then proposed to give her Shs2 million but she rejected it,” Mr Mutaka told the court.

However, Ms Kalembe’s lawyer said his client had agreed to take Shs10m but the accused did not respond. “We are ready to settle out of court if they give us the amount we want,” Mr Balidawa Ngobi, the lawyer for Kalembe, said.

‘Strange case’
According to her, when she introduced Mr Mutaka to her parents in Kisozi Village, Kamuli District in 2010 as her fiancé, she was sure a wedding would follow shortly, to cement their relationship.

In her submission to the Iganga Chief Magistrate, Ms Kalembe lamented that Saturday December 17, 2011, should have been her lucky day—the day she should have walked down the aisle with her fiancé.

Instead, she says, she nearly collapsed when Pastor Kasakya of Iganga Deliverance Church, who was to preside over the function, told her Mr Mutaka had halted the wedding “until further notice”.

In what many in Iganga described as a “strange” case, Ms Kalembe, a resident of Nkono Zone in the municipality, said Mr Mutaka, who is the Naads coordinator for Bukanga Sub-county in Luuka District, should pay for failing to marry her.

Through her lawyers, she then asked court to compel Mr Mutaka to compensate her with Shs20m as costs for general damages, saying that the act was unlawful and tantamount to breach of promise to marry her but the accused asked for the case to be settled out of court.

In the suit, Ms Kalembe says she facilitated their introduction ceremony and made it “colourful” with a Shs2m cash injection—and it is just proper that her former fiancé—who “had a small income” then, reciprocates.

The chief magistrate gave them up to February 21 to agree on the compensation or the case would be heard again. Ms Kalembe says her misery is further compounded by the fact that her house in Nkono Zone in Iganga Town is where the couple had cohabited during “tough” times and that she had contributed Shs2 million to help her fiancé get a job.

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REACTIONS:

Ashah Kiwanuka, Teacher at Visible Love Academy Nursery School.
Honestly, this is one strange woman. How can you drag your fiancé to court for having failed to marry you? It is so unlike a woman. Anyway, she should settle for the Shs2m he is offering. Probably, this is what he can afford.

David Kabanda, Decorator
As much as I believe that the man was unfair to her, this woman should just pick herself up and move on. She should not even be demanding for this money in the first place. She is just stooping so low. She should move on with her life. The battle she is fighting is not really worth it.

Afusa Namarah, Hotelier, Kampala Serena Hotel.
“Let her accept the money and just let the man be. Very few men would probably have done what he did. I just wish a relative could pump some sense into her because she seems not to have any at the moment.”

Muhammad Kikomeko, a law lecturer at Islamic University in Uganda and partner with KM Advocates and Associates. “The issue between the two is a breach of contract since he had promised to marry her in the first place. According to the law, if one breaches a contract, he has to meet the damages suffered by the other party. In regards to this case therefore, it is mandatory for the defendant (Emma Mutaka) to compensate the plaintiff (Catherine Kalembe) fully. If he cannot, then he has to come to some form of agreement with her. Otherwise, he is bound to face some jail time.”

by Esther Oluka