Kenya's Court of Appeal has upheld the removal of the three-year waiting period for filing divorce in civil marriages. This allows couples to dissolve their unions at any time after marriage. The 2022 ruling remains unchallenged by the Supreme Court.
Under the Marriage Act 2014, spouses in civil marriages had to wait at least three years from their wedding date before filing for divorce, though no such limit applied to other marriages. However, lawyer Tukero Ole Kina petitioned against the Attorney General and the National Assembly in 2022, arguing that the provision was unconstitutional.
The High Court ruled in his favor, stating that the three-year waiting period was discriminatory and violated the right to equality and human dignity. The court noted that forcing people to remain together for three years when they wished to divorce earlier affronted their dignity. The National Assembly appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's ruling.
The Court of Appeal suspended the effect of its declaration for three years to allow Parliament time to amend the Marriage Act. Since no petition has been filed with the Supreme Court since 2022, the new law officially came into effect in June of this year. Lawyer Danstan Omari explained, “The duration of how many years you have been married has been scrapped by the Court of Appeal. Since there’s no challenge to the Supreme Court, that is now the law.”
He added, “You can marry at 10 a.m. and file for divorce at 2 p.m. There’s no limit on how long you must stay in a marriage.” This change alters the divorce process in Kenya, enabling faster resolutions for couples seeking to end their unions promptly.