Man appeals sh20m divorce award to wife

KAMPALA - Solomon Mawa Ayiko, a United Nations relief, reintegration and protection officer, has appealed against a sh20m award that was given to his estranged wife as alimony.

He is also protesting a lower court's order directing the sale and distribution of proceeds of matrimonial property which he claims belongs to his brother.

Ayiko's marriage to Anet Lekuru was dissolved at Arua High Court on February 17, 2017.

In his ruling, Justice Steven Mubiru directed Ayiko to pay a one-off rehabilitative alimony of sh20m to Lekuru, to cover for her non-economic contribution to the marriage during its subsistence. This was to be paid within three months.

"Marriage today is viewed as a shared partnership with important economic and noneconomic expectations. Alimony conceptualizes spousal support as compensation earned by the economically disadvantaged spouse through marital investments and as a means of eliminating distorting financial incentives in marriage, as well as relieving financial need," said Justice Mubiru.

As her fair share of the matrimonial property, Mubiru asked Lekuru to take possession of land at Jaiko Village, Vurra County in Arua district.

The land, according to court documents, was purchased at sh5.1m. It's one of the three pieces of land acquired during the subsistence of the marriage. The others are land at Pajulu and at Anakawa Orobi village in Arua district.

Ayiko was also asked to pay her half the confirmed value of the matrimonial home at Jekerede Avenue, Anyafio in Arua within six months. The court registrar was directed to get a valuer within one month, to value the property and file a report with the court within two months.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, Ayiko rushed to the Court of Appeal, stating that during the subsistence of their short-lived marriage, no matrimonial property was acquired.

He said the lower court judge also erred when he stated that he (Ayiko) lawfully married Lekuru on February 14, 2009 under the Nikah Islamic ceremony, stating that they got married on December 2, 2009.

He filed the appeal on March 13, 2017 through Tumwebaze, Kasirye and Co. Advocates.

Ayiko said that Mubiru also erred in law when he ordered him to pay costs of the petition.

In 2015, Ayiko petitioned court to dissolve his marriage to Lekuru on grounds of adultery. He accused Lekuru of engaging in adulterous relationships with a Canadian student who was living in his brother's house in Anyafio and with other unnamed men during the time he had returned to Canada to continue with his research in peace building and human security.

The two met in January 2009 and started cohabiting. At that time, Lekuru was pregnant with another man's child which she delivered on October 13, 2009. In December the same year, they underwent an Islamic traditional marriage ceremony, Nikah. This was later preceded by a civil marriage.

Ayiko said he underwent the civil marriage because he needed a marriage certificate for immigration purposes.

He said that when he discovered that the child belonged to a doctor at Arua hospital, a quarrel ensued, prompting Lekuru to desert their home.

In her defence, Lekuru blamed her then in-laws whom she accused of interfering with her marriage. She said that they insulted her and called her a prostitute who was not fit for their son.

She revealed that on two occasions, she caught her husband in a compromising situation, kissing a woman.

Lekuru said that the last straw that broke their marriage was when Ayiko, in September 2010, came back from a two-week trip with a woman, whom he introduced to her as Anim and his second wife.

She packed her belongings and left.​