RETIRED President Moi’s son Philip now wants his estranged wife Rosanna Pluda to pay for his upkeep and not the other way round. Philip argues they are equals before the law. He is contesting a maintenance award of Sh250,000 given to Rosanna by the High Court this year. Philip argues the constitution regards parties in a marriage as equals and therefore it should not only be the husband to pay maintenance.
Philip’s lawyer Evans Ondieki told Justice GBM Kariuki yesterday; “The constitution regards both parties as equals. She should maintain Philip. It is not a one-way traffic”. He accused Rosanna of immorality and asked the court not to compel Philip to pay her maintenance. Philip argued that it would be difficult for him to pay for her upkeep since she left him for another man.
However, judge Kariuki warned Philip to stick to the main arguments and not to sidetrack. Philip wants the judge to reduce the Sh250,000 monthly maintenance award and has asked that it be stayed until his appeal is concluded. Philip said the award by Justice Roselyne Nambuye towards the upkeep of Rosanna and their children was based on speculation. “The order was not based on statement of earnings. Instead it is based on mere speculation. Maintenance must be premised on tangible evidence. This kind of order will endanger men,” his lawyer argued.
Philip said the route taken by Rosanna to have him committed to civil jail for failing to pay maintenance would not help the children. “If he is in jail he is not able to pay school fees. For her to want the father of her children to be sent to jail goes against international laws,” said Ondieki. Rosanna however urged the court to dismiss Philip’s appeal as frivolous. "This plea by Philip is a ploy to delay the conclusion of the matter as there is no substantial grounds cited for the relief sought," her lawyer Judy Thongori declared.
She said what she found draconian was not her application to have Philip committed to civil jail but his guts to disobey a court order and walk away. She told the court that Philip, despite the order being given in 2010, has not paid the monthly upkeep. Philip has only paid her Sh270,000 so far even though he was asked to pay Sh250,000 a month in May 2011, she said. She argued that the maintenance was determined by a court order and not contractual obligation, and therefore Philip should be compelled to pay. “Philip is unwilling, he is not unable. It has been found that he has the capacity,” Thongori said. The court will give its ruling on February 9, 2012.
Source-http://www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/52776-my-wife-should-pay-me-maintenance-philip-moi
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