WOMAN JAILED FOR REFUSING TO MARRY MAN WHO FUNDED HER EDUCATION
Published on March 16, 2026 at 9:30 AM by Edgar Naitha
A Ugandan court has sentenced a woman to six months in prison after she refused to marry a man who financed her education, despite an earlier agreement that they would wed.
The woman, Fortunate Kyarikunda, was convicted by a court in Rukungiri District, Uganda, after Richard Tumwine, the man who supported her studies, sued her for failing to honor a marriage promise they had allegedly agreed upon.
According to court records, the two first met in 2015 while Kyarikunda was doing her teaching practice. Their relationship later developed, and in 2018 they reportedly entered into an agreement that they would marry. Following this understanding, Tumwine began paying for Kyarikunda’s diploma studies at the Development Centre in Kampala.
During the trial, Tumwine told the court that he sold livestock and agricultural produce to raise money for her tuition and other expenses, believing that the two would eventually marry after she completed her education.
However, after graduating and securing employment, Kyarikunda allegedly refused to marry him, claiming she was no longer interested in the relationship and that the marriage would bring embarrassment to her.
Feeling betrayed, Tumwine took the matter to court.
After reviewing the evidence, the court ruled that Kyarikunda had breached the agreement, and ordered her to refund 14,099,100 Ugandan Shillings (approximately MWK 6.5 million) to cover the education expenses and legal costs.
The court further ruled that if she failed to repay the money, she would serve six months in prison.
In a dramatic twist, Kyarikunda reportedly chose prison over marriage.
“Even though he paid my school fees from the first year until I finished, my heart refuses to marry him. I would rather spend six months in prison than marry him,” she reportedly told the court.
The case has sparked widespread debate on social media across East Africa about relationships, financial support in romantic partnerships, and whether promises of marriage should carry legal consequences.
