UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | In a divorce ruling that has grabbed the attention of many, the High Court Family Division in Makindye dissolved the marriage between Dr Elizabeth Nabatanzi Lugudde, a former Museveni Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Duties, and her estranged husband Samuel Lugudde, a top city businessman, bringing to an end an eight-year-long legal battle.
The case, which has been labelled one of the most complex divorce rulings in the country, involved allegations of adultery and property ownership disputes.
Samuel Lugudde filed for divorce in 2015 over claims Nabatanzi had committed adultery. According to Lugudde, Nabatanzi had deserted him, got married to another man, Robert Dillard, and bore him two children, while they were still married.
He also sought to bar Nabatanzi from using the name Lugudde, and to repossess all the properties in her possession as a result of their marriage.
In response, Nabatanzi accused Lugudde of being an adulterous man and provided evidence to the court showing that he had sired nine children out of their marriage wedlock.
She did not object to the divorce, but insisted on keeping Lugudde’s name.
In her ruling, Lady Justice Ketrah Katunguka indicated that the marriage between the two could no longer be sustainable and resolved it on grounds of cruelty and adultery.
She found that both parties had committed adultery and got married to other people during the subsistence of their marriage, indicating that their marriage had ended long ago.
The court also ruled that there were no matrimonial properties because the land and house on Block 493 plot 27 belonged to Lugudde, while the land on Block 424 plot 36 at Mpala Entebbe Municipality belonged to Nabatanzi. The court also ruled that the property comprised in Block 34 plot 63 land at Bale Bulemeezi over a square Mile, belongs to Nabatanzi and it’s not matrimonial property.
The court further ruled that each party was to bear their costs.
Nabatanzi expressed satisfaction with the ruling and called on all stakeholders to focus on protecting the rights of women in marriage as a way of promoting gender equality.
She also revealed that Lugudde had given her the land in Bulemezi in 1983 and even registered it in her name.
Lugudde sought to repossess it, but the court ruled that it belonged to Nabatanzi and was not matrimonial property.
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