The court found no legally recognised marriage to dissolve after four years of cohabitation.
Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege dismissed a man’s divorce petition, finding no basis to recognise the relationship as a marriage.
A man seeking a divorce after four years of cohabitation failed to secure a presumption of marriage. Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege found that the evidence did not establish a legally recognised union to dissolve.
The petitioner had asked the court to recognise his relationship as a marriage and then end it. However, Ndege dismissed the petition as unnecessary and directed the parties to continue their separate lives as unmarried people.
Why the court rejected the presumption of marriage
Ndege considered both the length of cohabitation and the evidence the petitioner presented about the relationship. He found four years insufficient in this case, with no qualities in the relationship that justified recognising a marriage.
The magistrate also questioned the purpose of presuming a marriage solely to dissolve it. He explained that such presumptions should serve a specific purpose, including in matrimonial or succession disputes.
For dissolution, Ndege said, parties must have a marriage recognised under Christian, Muslim, Hindu, customary or civil law. In this dispute, however, he found no marriage that the court could end.
Petitioner described a breakdown in the relationship
The man told the court that the couple began living together in 2020. However, he said their affection had turned into hostility four years later.
He alleged that his partner did not behave as a wife should under tradition, religion and marriage law. He also claimed that she contributed nothing towards household expenses, leaving him as the sole breadwinner throughout their cohabitation.
Those complaints formed part of his account of a relationship that he considered beyond repair. He therefore sought both legal recognition of the union and a divorce.
By the time of the case, the petitioner said he had moved to the United States to seek better opportunities. He also told the court that his former partner had entered another relationship.
Petition dismissed with costs
The woman did not respond to the proceedings despite receiving the court papers. Her absence, however, did not establish the legal basis the petitioner needed for a divorce.
Ndege concluded that the evidence did not support recognising the cohabitation as a marriage. He dismissed the petition and directed the man to bear the costs of the dispute.
