You Take What You Brought in - Kenyan Govt Ends 50% Property Share For Couples After A Divorce

The Supreme Court of Kenya has ruled that spouses are not entitled to a 50/50 share of matrimonial assets or property after divorce.

Following the landmark ruling given by the five-man Supreme Court judges, couples are no longer automatically entitled to a 50 per cent share of property in case of a divorce. The judges said spouses would have to prove their contribution to the matrimonial property amassed before sharing in the event of a divorce.
 
This is opposed to the controversial traditional assumption that one was entitled to a 50 per cent share. The Court also stated that while Article 45(3) of the Constitution deals with equality of the fundamental rights of spouses during the dissolution of a marriage, such equality does not mean the re-distribution of proprietary rights or an assumption that spouses are automatically entitled to a 50 percent share by fact of being married.

The ruling came in response to an appeal filed by Joseph Ombogi Ogenhoneypot, who sought to overturn a decision by the Court of Appeal that ordered the matrimonial property and rental units in the property be shared equally between himself and his estranged wife, Martha Bosibori Ogenhoneypot.

The two were married under Abagusii customary law in 1990 and later formalized their union under the repealed Marriage Act in 1995. During the subsistence of the marriage, the couple acquired a matrimonial home and constructed rental units on the property. However, in 2008, the marriage broke down and the couple decided to dissolve the marriage.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and in its judgement, stated that there is no retrospective application of the Matrimonial Property Act and that the applicable law to claims filed before the commencement of the Act is the Married Women Property Act, 1882. However, the Court clarified that there is nothing that bars the provisions of Article 45(3) of the Constitution from being applied retrospectively.

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Posted: at 3-02-2023 06:27 AM (1 month ago) | Hero

Supper President atleast Goldigers will go and look for job. End of marriage carriers.

Posted: at 3-02-2023 07:02 AM (1 month ago) | Upcoming

Did the   judges  take into  consideration wives who  are not  legally employed but  takes care of thew  homes and children whilst the husband is at work . This patriarchy is killing everything normal in our societies . I hope the  law will require men to  participate in child rearing, , domestic works and  the rest that has been traditionally understood to be the  wife's  especially those who're not gainfully employed.

Posted: at 3-02-2023 10:34 AM (1 month ago) | Gistmaniac

Whatever a housewife thinks she contributed by taking care of the Children is cancelled by what the man contributed to put food on a table under a shelter ! By providing Shelter, food, medical care, school and other fees, the man has compensated for that. If a wife argues in that direction, then let the court determine what is good a payment for such duty, and let the financial responsibilities in the house be split in equal parts between the man and the woman. I will pay the woman her salary for being the nanny, but she will contribute for every expense made in the running of the family. You cant just get 50 percent of my property because you took care of your own children.

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Posted: at 3-02-2023 10:54 AM (1 month ago) | Hero