A woman in southwestern district of Rubanda has been sentenced to six months in civil prison for refusing to pay Shs14 million to a former lover after calling off their planned marriage, highlighting enforcement of court-ordered compensation in breach-of-promise cases.
Fortunate Kyarikunda, a law enforcement officer attached to Rubanda Town Council in Rubanda District, has been jailed by the Chief Magistrate's Court in Rukungiri District for failing to compensate Richard Tumwiine following a breach of marriage promise.
The court had ordered Kyarikunda to refund Tumwiine Shs14,099,100 and pay an additional Shs1 million in general damages for the inconvenience and psychological distress he suffered.
Kyarikunda is a resident of Kiringa Parish in Kambuga Sub-county, Kanungu District, while Tumwiine, a primary school teacher, lives in Kagoongo-Nyakagyezi Village in Nyarutojo Parish in the same sub-county.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The dispute dates back to a January 2023 ruling by the Kanungu Grade One Magistrate's Court, which directed Kyarikunda to refund Shs9,439,100 that Tumwiine had spent on her education while they were planning to marry.
She lost the case after failing to file a defense.
In February 2023, Kyarikunda filed a petition in the same court seeking to overturn the ruling, claiming she had not received the court summons because her phone was being used by her sister, Rhona Atukwasa.
However, the court dismissed her application.
Unsatisfied with the decision, she later filed another petition before the Rukungiri Grade One Magistrate's Court seeking the same relief on similar grounds, but the petition was again dismissed. Despite the court rulings, Kyarikunda did not make the payment.
On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, she was arrested while on duty by Rubanda Town Council authorities and taken to Rukungiri.
Later that evening, she appeared before the Rukungiri Chief Magistrate's Court for failing to comply with the court order to refund the money.
Chief Magistrate Dinah Nekesa ordered her to be remanded to Rukungiri Government Prison (civil prison) to serve a six-month sentence for failing to pay the amount, which had since accumulated to Shs14,099,100. Kyarikunda did not comment on the matter in court.
Tumwiine's lawyer, Erasmus Nabimanya of Nabimanya and Company Advocates, welcomed the ruling, saying Kyarikunda had deliberately refused to comply with the court's order.
The couple reportedly began their relationship in 2015 while both were teachers at Kiringa Primary School in Kambuga Sub-county.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In 2018, they agreed to marry. During their relationship, Tumwiine financially supported Kyarikunda and sponsored her studies at the Law Development Centre in Kampala, where she pursued a Diploma in Legal Practice, spending about Shs9.4 million.
After she completed the bar course, the couple planned to hold their introduction ceremony in February 2022.
However, Kyarikunda later called off the marriage, citing that Tumwiine was too old and that marrying him would likely cause her stress.
