Can a promised dowry, which is unpaid, be treated as a debt?
This is the question the court is being asked to settle, in an intriguing case where a woman has sued her ex-husband for allegedly not honouring his word.
The woman, codenamed SMA, moved to the High Court in Nairobi, arguing that her former husband, SFD, had promised a four-year-old female camel as the bride price. However, she argued that the camel remains unpaid to date.
From court documents, the two profess Islamic faith and got married last year in July. She stated that although they were married, there was a binding contract, which he was required to honour.
“I was lawfully married to the respondent under Islamic law on or about July 12, 2025. At the time of the marriage, the agreed dowry was one four-year-old she camel, which formed an essential condition of the marriage contract. I can confirm that the said dowry was never paid, delivered or fulfilled to date, despite the subsistence and breakdown of the marriage,” she claimed.
According to the woman, the marriage started having issues when the man allegedly failed to provide adequate and consistent maintenance.
“This failure left me without proper support and care, contrary to the obligations placed upon a husband under sharia, and caused me significant hardship,” she said, adding that she was allegedly subjected to distress which made her leave the marital home.
At the same time, she alleged that he also did not perform his conjugal obligations, which he argued was against her marital rights. “This persistent failure, combined with a lack of maintenance and acts of cruelty, significantly destroyed the foundation of marriage and made continued cohabitation unbearable,” the court heard.
SMA explained that they first sought reconciliation, which allegedly hit a snag, then she tried patience as an alternative to keep the marriage, but this too failed. “As a family, elders from my side met with elders from the respondent’s family in an effort to reconcile us. However, no resolution was reached and the differences between us could not be resolved,” she said.
She further stated that they had no child together at the time of the marriage. SMA has listed her uncle as a witness.
He, too, rehashed the same claims. However, he pointed out that his niece was right to end the marriage, arguing that it was in her best interest and well-being.
“I am aware that the agreed dowry for the marriage was a one four-year-old she camel, and the same remains unpaid to date. The respondent has failed in his marital obligations, including failure to provide maintenance and basic needs for my niece,” SMA’s uncle stated.
She wants the court to formally annul the marriage. At the same time, she is seeking an order that the dowry remains unpaid and is payable to her.