The High Court on Monday dismissed a suit by the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) that had sought to have couples share wealth and property equally upon divorce.
The courts ruled to uphold Section 7 of the Matrimonial Property Act which outlines that a couple should divide the properties according to each partner's contribution to its acquisition.
FIDA had sought to have the section declared invalid and asked the courts to compel the Attorney General to publish a Statute Miscellaneous Amendment Act to delete the section.
"Ownership of matrimonial property vests in the spouses in equal shares irrespective of the contribution of either spouse towards its acquisition, and shall be divided equally between the spouses if they divorce or their marriage is otherwise dissolved," court papers filed by FIDA read in part.
[caption caption="FIDA Chairperson Josephine Mong'are"]
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On average, Kenyan courts decide on 250 divorce cases annually.
The Court of Appeal set a precedent in April 2016 when Judges Wanjiru Karanja, Mohammed Warsame and Festus Azangalala upheld a High Court decision that favoured a businessman, Andrew Munene Gachengo against his wife, Mary Goretti Nyambura Kanyi.
The High Court allowed Mr Munene to keep all the assets he had acquired during the marriage without Ms Nyambura's knowledge.
"The record does not show that (Ms Kanyi) demonstrated to the satisfaction of the court that her contribution towards other family expenses, in some way, had enabled Mr Gachengo meet his obligation to the seller of the said property and to the mortgage company," the judges ruled.
FIDA maintains that the judicial system is skewed to punish women who may not have tangible proof of their contribution to the acquisition of family property.
"This legal provision leaves at a distinct disadvantage the married women who contribute to the acquisition of their matrimonial properties but have no tangible proof of the same, it serves to disenfranchise and disempower women economically," the lawyers argued.
[caption caption="File image of FIDA officials during a past presser"]
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