A woman was ordered to pay her ex-husband Sh205,000 in college fees and dowry in a divorce hearing at the Kisii High Court.
James Mayaka accused his ex-wife Everline Kerubo of cheating with several men and deserting their two children three years after their marriage in 2004.
Speaking to the Star on phone on Thursday, Mayaka narrated the details of the case whose ruling was delivered on February 27.
He noted that he had paid Sh209,000 in school fees and Sh120,000 in dowry but that the amounts were halved and the interest included.
He said he filed the case on March 23, 2011 but that the proceedings began in 2013.
Mayaka said Kerubo settled down with one of the men named Charles Onchiri in 2009, and that they later had a child.
“I have been depressed after my wife decided to desert me even after I had paid fees until she finished her P1 course at Narok Teachers Training College,” he told the Star on phone.
Through his lawyer Samson Sagwe, the teacher at Motagara Girls Secondary School, Nyamira asked the court to dissolve the marriage.
He further asked for the return of goods and money he accused Kerubo and Onchiri of stealing and for the custody of their two children.
Accusing Kerubo of adultery, cruelty and torture, and terming an embarrassment to society, he said she cannot take care of the children.
Kerubo denied the charges through lawyer Wilkins Ochoki but resident judge Chrispin Nangila dissolved the marriage and ordered her to pay the amount.
“I find that the marriage is dead and I see no reason why the court should not grant the order sought by the petitioner. It is oblivious to the court that the couple have lost all love for each other and the likelihood for a reunion is remote,” Nangila ruled on behalf of Judge Ruth Sitati.
“I hereby pronounce a decree of divorce and order that the marriage solemnised on September 9, 2004 is hereby dissolved.”
He said the Nyamira Children’s Court will determine the custody of the five and eight year-olds.
Some residents supported the ruling while others said it was against the Gusii culture.
Bungoma lawyer Yobesh Onchiri termed it a lesson to women intending to abandon husbands who have supported them financially.
“The judgment is good because it will scare women who might want to desert their husbands after paying their fees and dowry,” he said.
-the-star.co.ke
