Family Bills have been in the making for decades now, with various failed attempts to introduce legislation on family relations, particularly on the division or allocation of property between spouses in dissolution of marriage. Kenyan litigants have continued to rely on the Constitution, court authorities, statute law relating to marriage and succession and other sources including old English law - the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882. The Matrimonial Property Bill 2013 attempts to comprehensively codify the rights and responsibilities of spouses in relation to matrimonial property, drawing on the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
The Gender Forum deliberated on the import of the amendments made to the Matrimonial Property Bill 2013 in the National Assembly on 12 November 2013, specifically: amendments on definition of matrimonial property to require joint ownership and amendment of the equal (50:50) share on dissolution. What does its passing portend?