The requirement that bride price must be refunded is in my view the worst aspect of the bride price regime. Whenever bride price is paid in money or animals, it is not kept in banks or kraals to await the event that the marriage may fail so that a refund of the bride price can be made. In majority of cases the money is used by the parents of the bride to pay school fees, to pay bride price for the brothers of the bride, to improve their living standards and in some cases, the father of the bride might marry another wife and use the property as bride price. So, the properties so paid never remain intact. This can produce the following consequences to the woman for whom the bride price was paid:(a) The woman will tend to stay in abusive marriage for fear that if she leaves, she will be condemned by her relatives as they have no money or cows to refund the bride price. (b) Women stay in abusive marriages even when they are battered and tortured and some are killed by their husbands in the process. (c) Women can be exploited for decades after which their husbands divorce them merely because they want to recover bride price and marry younger women. The woman is chased from her home and children when she can no longer get married and has no where to go. For the service she has rendered to her husband for so long, she leaves with nothing. (d) In many cultures, the husband can still get back the bride price even when he was the one responsible for the breakdown of the marriages. This encourages some men to marry and divorce indiscriminately which leaves a lot of desperate and helpless women in society which provides a bleeding ground for prostitution. In my judgment, the practice of bride price violates all the constitutional provisions which were enacted to give protection to women including articles 21, 24, 31, 32(2) and 33 of the Constitution. Yet the practice no longer serves any useful purpose in society. It has now become purely commercialised and highly exploitative and humiliating to women. I support the emerging practice where before, during or after the wedding of couples, the groom with the help of parents, relatives and friends gives to the parents of the bride whatever ex-gratia payment (Kasiimo) they may wish to give to thank them as appreciation for bring up his bride. It is voluntary, it is not demanded, there is no haggling, it does not humiliate the bride and it is never refunded when the marriage breaks down. In the result, I would allow this petition and make the following declarations:(1) The practice of demanding and payment of bride price as a requirement for the recognition of a valid customary marriage is unconstitutional and violates articles 31(1)(b), 31(3), 32(2) and 33(1) of the Constitution. 64