Woman asks court to overturn Shs10m flopped marriage fine

A woman fined Shs10.4m last month for breaking a promise to marry a man who had sponsored her education has asked court to overturn the verdict.

In an application filed through M/s Nasike & Co. Advocates, Ms Fortunate Kyarikunda asked the Kanungu Chief Magistrate’s Court to set Grade One Magistrate Asanasio Mukobi’s decision aside.

The magistrate, in a judgment following an ex-parte hearing, found that Ms Kyarikunda breached a 2018 promise to marry Mr Richard Tumwine who paid her tuition to study a diploma in law on the understanding that she would be his future wife.

“The said money was sent to the defendant in the hope that their relationship goes an extra mile up to marriage which did not take place at the defendant’s instance. The defendant cannot, therefore, retain the plaintiff’s money and also withhold the consent to marry him,” the magistrate ruled.

Justification

He added: “Consequently, I hold that … the promise to marry was not fulfilled by the defendant … The excuse of the defendant was that she could not get married to an old man as if she did not see young men during the four years of courtship.”

Magistrate Mukobi then ordered the woman to pay Mr Tumwine, a primary school teacher, Shs9.43m in tuition refund and an additional Shs1m compensation.

In her application, Ms Kyarikunda contends that she was not duly served with summons to file her defence in civil suit No.024/2022, thus violating her right to be heard.

In her affidavit, Ms Kyarikunda states that she did not receive the purported service of summons to file her defence through WhatsApp as her sister Rhona Atukwasa was the one using her phone at that time.

“I have a strong defence to the suit because the respondent/plaintiff has no cause of action against me. I verily believe to be true that had I been given an opportunity to be heard in this matter, court would not have passed judgement against me,” the applicant avers.

Her side of story

She adds: “I believe the court shall reach a different decision after hearing my side of the story. Failure to serve me with the summons in the said matter was a direct violation of my constitutional right to be heard and was against the rules of natural justice.” 

Hearing of the application has been set for 10am on February 23.

The applicant prayed to court to set aside the judgement and the decree in civil suit No.024 /2022, allow her to file defence so that the case is determined after inter-party hearing and that execution of orders in the first ex-parte judgment be stayed.

Asked about the development, Mr Tumwine, who until now has been celebrating his court victory, told this newspaper that “I have asked my lawyers to handle the application and I have no problem with the hearing of the case inter party”.

Tumwine’s lawyer speaks

Mr Tumwine’s lawyer Erasmus Nabimanya last evening said he had received instructions to challenge the application and will ask court to summon Ms Kyarikunda to appear in person in court to confirm if she indeed is the petitioner since there are noticeable differences in the signature on the affidavit, other official documents at her work place and sign-in book at the primary school where she taught together with Mr Tumwine.

Background

On July 1, 2022, Mr Richard Tumwine filed civil suit No.024 of 2022 through his lawyer Mr Erasmus Nabimanya of Bikangiso & Co. Advocates against Ms Fortunate Kyarikunda whom he accused of breaching a 2018 promise to marry him, a commitment which formed the basis for his decision to sponsor her diploma in law course at the Law Development Centre in Kampala.

The two, according to court records, met and fell in love in 2015 when teaching at the same primary school in Kanungu District. Mr Tumwine told court that Ms Kyarikunda, currently a law enforcement officer with Rubanda District Local Government, walked back on a February 2022 date she had set for their (marriage) introduction ceremony and out of the relationship altogether on the pretext that the prospective groom was old.

Mr Tumwine asked, and court in an ex-parte judgment awarded him, Shs9.43m in tuition refund and an extra Shs1m as compensation.

Her affidavit in brief

“I Kyarikunda Fortunate of c/o Nasike & Co. advocates, Dairy House [on] Republic Road [in] Rukungiri do hereby swear and state as follows;

... That I was never served with the summons to file defence in civil suit No.024/2022.

That I did not receive the purported service through WhatsApp as my sister Atukwasa Rhona was the one using my phone at that time.

That I have been advised by my lawyers of M/S Nasike & Co. Advocates, which I verily believe to be true, that I have a strong defence to the suit as the respondent/plaintiff has no cause of action against me.

That I have been advised by my lawyers of M/S Nasike & Co. Advocates, which advice I verily believe to be true, that had I been given the opportunity to be heard in this matter, the court would not have passed judgement against me.

... That if I am given a chance to defend myself, I verily believe that the court shall reach a different decision after hearing my side of the story....

That what is stated herein above is true to the best of my knowledge save for the information whose source is disclosed herein....