Woman Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison After Refusing To Marry Man Who Funded Her Education

• A woman went to prison after breaking a marriage promise tied to financial support, revealing the serious consequences of civil agreements
• Court documents showed that repayment of school fees and damages became unavoidable when mediation attempts failed
• Efforts by family and local leaders to settle the dispute proved unsuccessful, prompting legal action that concluded with a six-month sentence

A promise turned costly when a woman refused to marry the man who had funded her education. What started as love and financial support ended in court action and prison time.

A woman was sentenced to six months in prison after she failed to marry the man who had funded her education. According to The Observer, Fortunate Kyarikunda had signed a promise-to-marry agreement with Richard Tumwine, who covered her school fees, but later backed out of the marriage. The court ruled that Fortunate must repay Tumwine a total of R63,400, which included tuition costs and a court-imposed fine. She was detained at Rukungiri Government Prison in Uganda until the full amount and court costs were paid.

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Rukungiri Grade One Magistrate Dianah Nekesa handed down the ruling on March 10, determining that Kyarikunda had breached her agreement. Committal papers instructed:

“Take and receive the said Kyarikunda Fortunate into civil prison and keep her imprisoned therein for a period not exceeding six months or until the judgement decree shall sooner be fully satisfied.”

Fortunate and Tumwine first met in 2015 while she was on teaching practice at Kiringa Primary School in Kanungu District. In 2018, the two entered into a promise-to-marry agreement, which included Tumwine’s commitment to pay for her further education. When Fortunate chose to pursue a diploma at the Law Development Centre in Kampala, Tumwine covered tuition totaling USh 9.43 million.

Woman jailed after broken marrage promise

After completing her studies, plans for their official introduction ceremony and marriage were made, but Fortunate reportedly developed cold feet and refused to marry, citing his age as a concern. Tumwine then sought compensation through the courts after all attempts at mediation by family and local leaders failed.

The Kanungu Chief Magistrate’s Court ruled that Kyarikunda must repay the tuition fees and an additional USh 1 million in damages for inconvenience and emotional distress. Applications by Fortunate to overturn the ruling were dismissed after neither she nor her lawyer appeared in court.

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Here's what Ugandans said

JohnPaul Guminkiriza wrote:

"When he was sponsoring her education she didn’t see that he was old, after her education all of a sudden he started seeing that he was old. After completing the bar course, the couple planned to hold an introduction ceremony in February 2022. However, Kyarikunda later withdrew from the marriage plans, saying she could not proceed because her partner was too old and that the relationship would cause her stress. She argued that she was still in her 30s while Tumwiine was in his 60s.”

Lawyer said:

"That's one of the worst laws in this country. Imagine spending only 6 months in prison for 14M! Remember Civil Prisoners are treated much fairly compared to other prisoners. It's literally a cheat code if you have nothing much the creditor can attach ."

Viv PMP added:

"As long as she comes out without having to pay the money or be with the man, a win is a win!"

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Joel atuhaire added:

"Even those who eat transport money should be dealt with this law Mimi."

Eric asked:

"Can the man who has promised to marry her just come out and refund the investor? Or go to jail in her place instead?"

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Source: Briefly News