A Ugandan court has ordered a woman to pay $2,550 in monetary damages to her ex-fiancé after she ended their relationship. The verdict came after the court determined that the break-up caused Richard Tumwine psychological anguish, according to the BBC.
Tumwine is said to have spent the money on his former partner’s legal studies. The woman, Fortunate Kyarikunda, has been ordered to refund the money as well as pay his legal fees.
Kyarikunda had been in a four-year relationship with her ex-boyfriend. Magistrate Asanasio Mukobi ruled that by canceling their engagement, the former had broken a promise to Tumwine.
The court also argued that Kyarikunda’s claim that she broke up with Tumwine was “unreasonable, a misrepresentation, and a fraud” because her parents were opposed to her marrying an older man. The court went on to say that the defendant “had every opportunity to reject the plaintiff’s love requests as soon as possible and avoid interfering with his financial obligations.”
However, critics who spoke with the Monitor newspaper expressed their displeasure with the decision, claiming that an engagement is not marriage and thus not legally binding. Sheila Kawamara, a member of the ED EASSI women’s advocacy group, also claimed that men exploit women by giving them money in exchange for marrying them.