A woman who has been living with two husbands at Chamgiwadu village in Rongo, Migori County was on Monday arrested together with the two men following an uproar from local residents.
According to the area chief David Onyango, the woman had been living with the two men under one roof for the past two weeks before the villagers raised concern demanding for action from local leaders.
The polyandrous marriage began when Maurine Atieno, who has been married to Robert Ochieng with whom they have sired two children, returned home with her newfound partner John Ochola and decided to stay with him together with the first husband.
The woman sells fish in Kisumu, where she met with Ochola, who is said to have been one of her loyal customers. Ochieng, the first husband, is a farmer in Migori.
The area chief said they are yet to establish how an agreement was reached for the two men to live with one woman in one house.
However, the chief said preliminary investigations indicate that the woman and the second husband insisted that they must both stay in that homestead.
The village administrator further said the marriage between the woman and the second husband, who hails from Kisumu County, has been authenticated by the man’s mother who confessed that the woman has been frequently visiting them in Kisumu.
Even though the three were arrested after locals threatened to lynch the second husband, the area chief says there is no legal basis to charge them, adding that they are trying to find other avenues to handle the matter.
The chief, however, noted that they were forced to intervene and separate the three to avert any violent eventuality.
Shock-struck villagers said it was the first time they were seeing a woman living with two husbands under one roof.
Obuya Kisuge, a local resident, termed the marriage as an abomination demanding that the three be separated.
By George Juma
-citizentv.co.ke
