(Ancillary Relief in Connection with Divorce Proceedings)
A maintenance pending suit is usually applied by the spouse who is financially weaker as a result of sacrificing his/her financial future for the sake of the family. These spouses are usually the homemaker and in most cases the wives. A maintenance pending suit order usually serves the purpose of allowing the applicant’s spouse to meet short-term financial needs during the proceedings.
Usually, during the course of the divorce process, many spouses may not be receiving financial support from their partners from the period the petition is filed to the competent court in Cameroon until the divorce is finalized. These spouses can apply to the court for interim maintenance.
In accordance with section 22 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, on a petition for divorce, nullity of marriage or judicial separation, the court may make an order for maintenance pending suit, that is to say, an order requiring either party to the marriage to make to the other such periodical payments for his or her maintenance and for such term, being a term beginning not earlier than the date of the presentation of the petition and ending with the date of the determination of the suit, as the court thinks reasonable.