Men celebrate As Court Jails Woman for Refusing to Marry Man Who Paid for her Education
Richard Tumwine and Fortunate Kyarikunda
By Peterson Hiirya
Drama unfolded in western Uganda after a court ordered a woman to be jailed for failing to honour a promise to marry a man who had reportedly spent millions of shillings on her education.
Richard Tumwine, a 46-year-old primary school teacher from Kanungu District, could not hide his relief after a court in Rukungiri District ruled in his favour in a long-running dispute with Fortunate Kyarikunda.
On Tuesday, Grade One Magistrate Diana Nekesa ordered Ms Kyarikunda, a law enforcement officer attached to Rubanda Town Council, to be sent to Rukungiri Government Civil Prison for up to six months unless she pays Shs14,099,100 to Mr Tumwine.
The ruling stems from a failed relationship that began with romance but ended in court battles and accusations of betrayal.
“All I want is my money back,” Mr Tumwine said shortly after the decision. “She broke the agreement. The process took long, but in the end justice has been done.”
According to court records, the couple fell in love in 2015 when Ms Kyarikunda was doing teaching practice at Kiringa Primary School in Kanungu District. Their relationship later deepened, and in 2018 the two reportedly agreed to marry.
During the relationship, Ms Kyarikunda expressed interest in pursuing a Diploma in Law at the Law Development Centre in Kampala. Mr Tumwine stepped in to support her ambitions and reportedly paid Shs9.43 million for her tuition.
Plans for marriage soon followed, with an introduction ceremony scheduled for February 2022. But just as preparations were underway, the relationship took a dramatic turn.
Ms Kyarikunda allegedly called off the wedding plans, reportedly telling Mr Tumwine she could not marry him because he was “too old.”
Feeling betrayed, Mr Tumwine first sought mediation through local leaders, relatives and police, hoping the matter could be resolved peacefully. But when those efforts failed, he took the fight to court in 2022 through his lawyer, Erasmus Nabimanya.
In February 2023, then Kanungu Grade One Magistrate Asanasio Mukobi ruled that Ms Kyarikunda had indeed breached the promise to marry after benefiting financially from Mr Tumwine. She was ordered to refund the tuition money and pay Shs1 million in damages for the distress caused.
However, the legal battle did not end there.
Ms Kyarikunda later filed applications challenging the ruling and seeking to stop its enforcement, arguing that she had not been properly served with court summons.
But the court dismissed the applications after she and her lawyer failed to appear to defend them.
With the additional legal costs, the amount due rose to more than Shs14 million—leading to this week’s dramatic order committing her to civil prison until she pays.
Despite the court victory, Mr Tumwine says the ordeal has left him emotionally drained.
“The disappointment stressed me so much,” he said. “For now, I need a break from marriage matters.”
