A High Court sitting in Kisii, Kenya, has ruled that the concept of alimony is no longer applicable under the country’s legal framework, declaring that spousal support after divorce contradicts constitutional provisions guaranteeing equality between men and women.
In a judgment delivered by Justice DKN Magare in the civil appeal case of CKN v DMO, the court held that alimony is an anathema to gender equality as enshrined in Article 45 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
The constitutional provision guarantees that spouses are entitled to equal rights at the time of marriage, during its subsistence, and at the dissolution of the union.
Justice Magare observed that the historical concept of alimony was rooted in the assumption that men and women were unequal, where a woman merged her legal identity with her husband upon marriage.
The court noted that such traditional arrangements, which required men to pay alimony as they detached from their former spouses, are incompatible with contemporary laws that treat both partners as equal entities before the law.
The presiding judge further stated that maintaining spousal maintenance obligations post-divorce undermines the principle of equal standing and fails to reflect the reality of modern constitutional guarantees.
In addition to addressing alimony, the court ruled on customary marriage practices and the return of dowry. Reviewing the dissolution of a union that involved both Kisii Customary Law and a Christian marriage, the High Court affirmed that traditional marriages are formally cancelled through the return of dowry.
The court upheld orders requiring the return of the bride price items or their equivalent monetary value to signal the complete dissolution of the traditional marriage alongside the cancellation of the Christian marriage certificate.
Justice Magare clarified that whether the dowry is returned directly by the former wife or her family, the legal obligation to settle the customary requirement remains necessary to finalize the separation under customary law.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
