Photos have emerged of a female teacher who was jailed for 3 years after she failed to marry the man who fully paid her college fees until she graduated.
The woman identified as Fortunate Kyarikunda was sentenced to 3 years in prison after a court found that she broke a promise to marry a man who funded her education.
The ruling was made on Tuesday by Rukungiri Grade One Magistrate Dianah Nekesa in Uganda. The court ordered that Kyarikunda be held at Rukungiri Government Prison unless she refunds the money that was spent on her education.
Kyarikunda can regain her freedom if she repays Richard Tumwine USh 14,099,100, which is about KSh 491,407.
The amount includes the tuition fees he paid for her studies and additional damages awarded by the court.
Reports indicate that the two met in 2015 when Kyarikunda was on teaching practice at Kiringa Primary School in Kanungu District.
Tumwine works as a primary school teacher in the same area.
In 2018 the pair entered into a promise to marry agreement.
Tumwine agreed to sponsor her studies after she expressed interest in pursuing a diploma at the Law Development Centre in Kampala.
He later paid tuition fees totalling USh 9.43 million.
After completing her studies, the couple started planning a traditional introduction ceremony that was scheduled for February 2022.
However, Kyarikunda later declined to proceed with the marriage, reportedly saying Tumwine was too old for her.
Attempts by relatives and local leaders to mediate the dispute failed. Tumwine then filed a civil case in court seeking compensation.
The court ruled in his favour and ordered Kyarikunda to refund the money and pay damages.
Her attempts to challenge the decision were later dismissed after she and her lawyer failed to appear in court.
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