Friday, January 27, 2023 –Married spouses will nolonger claim ownership of property and wealth they did not participate in creating.
On Friday January 27, the Apex court sitting in Nairobi made a clear ruling on the matter that has been at the center of contestation for long.
Led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, the court ruled that, only the property one contributed in building, that he or she can lay a claim.
Koome added that it will no longer be automatic that once married, one can demand ownership of a 50-percent share should there be a divorce.
Referencing on the existing property rights law on equitable sharing, the five-judge bench made it clear that a claim can only be valid on a property and wealth brought into the marriage by both partners.
This means, going forward, spouses have to prove their contribution to the matrimonial wealth before being awarded any share.
This is meant to reduce cases of fraudulent acquisition of property and wealth by ill-intended spouses who end relationships to benefit from what they didn’t contribute to build.
Cases of women divorcing men and then laying claims on the family property have been on an increase in the country with men crying foul of being the main target.
This historic landmark ruling now puts a smile on the faces of those affected by divorce orders in the past.
“What amounts to a fair and equitable legal formula for the reallocation of matrimonial property rights at the dissolution of a marriage and whether the same can be achieved by a fixed means of apportionment at a 50:50 ratio should be done in light of the circumstances of each individual case,” the Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
The country had been divided on whether spouses had a right to claim family wealth whether they helped bring it or not.